A Reason for Insanity
by The Chuckinator
Summary: Sonic the Hedgehog has been hiding something from his past: he was abused as a child at the orphanage he was in. When Shadow finds out, he is determined to help him. As Sonic is diagnosed with schizophrenia, things take a turn for the worse...and Sonic will learn what it means to be insane.
1. Sonic's Past

A Reason for Insanity

By Fangs of Lightning and The Chuckinator

Chapter 1: Sonic's Past

Sonic knocked loudly on the door to Shadow's house and waited impatiently for the other to answer. A few minutes later, the door opened. "Faker," Shadow said. "What is it you want?"

Sonic gave him a smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out for a while. Go out and do something maybe."

Shadow thought about it. This was unexpected. he and Sonic were friends, of course, but not very close. Perhaps it was time to change that. "Sure," Shadow said after a moment. "Where do you want to go?"

Sonic thought about it. "Somewhere fun. Why don't we wander town until we find a place?"

The other hedgehog nodded. "Alright," he said with a smile. "Lead the way." Sonic nodded and led Shadow out into town. They looked around, wondering where to go. The two people mostly talked with each other as they walked. Sonic looked at his friend, wondering what he had done recently.

"So, what have you been up to?"

Shadow shrugged. "Not much; just been busy with GUN and hanging out around the house. You?"

"Not much here, either."

The other hedgehog nodded. They walked around for a few hours before sitting at a restaurant to get something to eat. Sonic watched Shadow as they ate, observing the way the other hedgehog did someone who seemed anti-social, Shadow seemed pretty civilized. The way he was eating seemed like he was raised in royalty, because he had polite manners. Sonic nodded in satisfaction; he was mostly the same as well.

"So...how do you usually spend your free time?" Sonic asked.

Shadow shrugged. "I don't do much," he said curtly. Sonic nodded with a small, inward sigh. He'd been hoping Shadow would have more to say than that. He returned his focus to the remainder of his food. "So...what's your past like?" Shadow asked, setting his fork down.

"Not much to talk about," Sonic said. "It's mostly full of fighting Eggman." Shadow nodded, but he could tell Sonic wasn't telling him everything. Sonic hesitated. He wasn't sure how Shadow would react if he found out that he had spent most of his childhood in an orphanage being physically and emotionally abused. Sighing, he decided to tell him. "I spent most of my childhood in an orphanage where they abused me. Both physically and emotionally."

Shadow's eyes widened. "You were...abused? Are you still?" Sonic hesitated and looked away, tears in his eyes. He pulled of his gloves and Shadow saw that there were knife cuts on Sonic's arms. Shadow gasped in horror. "Sonic...are you...cutting yourself?" Sonic nodded, ashamed. He stood up and ran out of the restaurant. Shadow sighed and ran after him. Following Sonic wasn't a problem. But catching up to him when he had a headstart was. "Sonic!" he yelled. "Wait a moment!"

The blue hedgehog stopped and looked at Shadow. "What the hell do you want?" He asked, tears in his eyes. Shadow was shocked by the sudden change in personality.

"I want to help you."

"Why?" Sonic asked. "Can't you see that it's no use? I'm still feeling the effects of my childhood! Wounds...emotional wounds...they never go away! You don't know what it was like!"

"I don't, but there has to be something I can do. Let me try, at least." Shadow hesitated, thinking. "I can be here for you. Try to make it a little better."

Sonic hesitated. Finally, he shook his head and ran back to his house. Once he got there, he saw Amy. She was furious. "A...Amy...what do you want?"

"Where were you for our date?" She asked. Sonic groaned. "Amy, we never agreed to a..."

Amy grabbed Sonic, then threw him into the house and into the basement, closing the door and locking it. Sonic's eyes widened as he looked around; he was extremely claustrophobic. He screamed and pounded on the door, trying to find a way out, before sobbing. He hesitated and his eyes widened as he had a flashback before moving into the corner of the room, muttering under his breath. Shadow opened the door and hesitantly walked inside. This was the last place to look in Sonic's house; he hadn't found the other anywhere else. The fact that it had been locked was more than a little strange, as well. "Sonic? Are you down here?" He put his ear to the door and heard whimpering. Gasping in shock, he started to kick at the door, hoping it would open. A few minutes later, he forced the door open and ran downstairs, gasping at Sonic's appearance. The blue hedgehog had blood covering him and was muttering something, weaving back and Shadow put a hand to him but the hedgehog flinched away.

"Sonic..." he said. "What happened?"

The blue hedgehog looked at him. Shadow frowned as he saw that Sonic had been trying to escape. "Amy..."

"Amy did this to you? Why the hell did she do that?"

"No...I did this to myself trying to get out...when I came here, she was waiting and accused me of missing a date, which I never agreed to, then threw me in her and locked the door. I'm...claustrophobic..." He shuddered again, still rocking back and forth. Shadow could tell he was traumatized. Shadow growled a little at the story. He couldn't believe Amy would do such a thing to Sonic. So much for loving him. Shadow put a hand out toward Sonic. "Come here, Sonic. I'll help you." Sonic backed away, holding his hands out to protect him. "No...keep away...don't...hit..."

Shadow frowned. The incident must have brought some memories of the abuse he went through as a child.

"I'm not going to hit you." Shadow gently took his hands, keeping his grip loose in case Sonic tried to pull away. Sonic hesitated. Then he noticed the open door and ran towards it. As soon as he got out, he fell on the couch and began to cry. Shadow followed him, feeling pity for the other person. "I'll stay here with you," he said. "For a while, at least." Unsure of whether or not Sonic would like it but sure he needed it, Shadow gently rubbed his back. "I don't like seeing you like this."

"Please, stay...help me..."

Shadow nodded. "That's what I intend to do."

He smiled and sighed, intending to give Sonic all the care he needed.


	2. A Drunken Mistake

Chapter 2: A Drunken Mistake

A few hours passed and he woke up. Sonic wasn't there, but he could hear screams of pain coming from the blue hedgehog's room. Fearing the worst, he ran upstairs and saw that Sonic had deep cuts on his arms. Sonic saw him and dropped the knife as Shadow advanced on him.

"Why the fuck are you doing this?" Shadow yelled angrily. "What makes you want to..." He motioned to Sonic's arms with blood gushing out.

Sonic flinched and moved away from Shadow, expecting the other hedgehog to hit him. He was shaking, and not doing a thing to cover the gashes on his arms. "I..."

"Stupid faker..." Shadow said. he walked towards Sonic and looked at the cuts on his arms, then back to Sonic. He went downstairs and a few minutes later, came back up with the first aid kit, cleaning the wounds.

Sonic watched him as he worked. He didn't do anything to help Shadow, but he didn't do anything to get away from him either. After the wounds were clean, Shadow looked at Sonic, still frowning. "You're going to do permanent damage to your nerves soon if you're not careful," he said. "I'm here to help, Sonic. You're my friend. Now, tell me, why are you doing this?"

Sonic looked up at Shadow. "I don't know...I just feel like I should."

Shadow sighed. "You need help," he said. "I'll be here for you. How about we forget this and go see what Tails is up to?"

The blue hedgehog smiled and nodded. "All right."

Shadow smiled and they left the house. Minutes later, they came to Tails' house. The fox opened the door. "Shadow, Sonic," he said. "It's nice to see you. I'm working on an invention and I was wondering if one of you could test it. "

"What does it do?" Sonic asked as they walked inside.

"It's a gender-changing machine," Tails said. "If you're male, you can become female."

Shadow's eyes widened. That was something he'd like to try out. "I'll try it out," he said as he stepped forward.

Tails smiled. "It will be permanent," he said. "Are you okay with that?"

Shadow hesitated, thinking about it. Then he nodded. "I'm fine with that."

He went into the machine and sighed. Tails smiled and turned it on as a bright glow engulfed Shadow. He grunted in pain as he felt himself change into a female. Shadow looked down at his chest as it grew out. The sight was strangely fascinating. The white fur covering them also grew, moving to cover more of the developed breasts. Eyelashes grew longer as his face became more feminine. His hips also grew larger, causing more pain than his upper half had due to the bones having to crack and grow larger. More pain shot through his lower half as the most obvious changes happened. Most of the pain was centered between his thighs, some of it moving upward into his abdomen. A bit of blood trickled down his thighs. Sweat was clearly seen on her face when the machine opened.

She looked at herself and gasped. "This is amazing," she said, looking at Tails. "Thanks a lot."

Tails smiled and nodded, watching the two leave. They walked around town for a while before walking into a bar. Sonic gave Shadow a smile as they walked inside. The two sat at the bar and ordered a few beers. Sonic looked at Shadow, smiling.

"So," he said. "You wanted to know about my past earlier. I already told you about my time at the orphanage, but I didn't get to the part where I found out I'm royalty."

"No, you didn't." Shadow smiled back. "How did you?"

Sonic smiled. "It was when I escaped the orphanage," he said. "I was wandering through town when a person came up to me and told me everything. I met my brother and sister, Manic and Sonic, and we traveled around searching for our mother, Aleena."

"Did you ever find her?"

"We did. She lives on Christmas Island with my siblings."

He took a drink of his beer, as did Shadow.

"They still a royal family?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, we are."

Shadow nodded and took another drink of her beer. "So why are you here instead of with them?"

Sonic did as well. "I wanted to do my own thing. Sometimes I do visit them, though." He took another drink and set the empty glass down. "Another," he said.

The barman nodded and handed Sonic another beer. Shadow did the same. "So are you still heir to the throne, or did your brother take that role when you left?"

"I'm still the heir," Sonic said with a smile. He took another drink.

Shadow returned his smile and took another drink as well. Before long, the two hedgehogs were drunk. The two left the bar then, finding their way back to Sonic's house. They staggered into the house and fell on the bed. Sonic pushed Shadow up against the wall and started kissing her. Shadow responded in kind, pushing herself against the blue hedgehog. Sonic pushed her onto the bed and moaned. Shadow did as well and they began to have sex. Afterwards, the two blacked out, lying next to each other.


	3. Diagnosis

Chapter 3: Diagnosis

When they woke the next morning, Shadow looked over at Sonic before sitting up.

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

Shadow looked around the area. "I believe...we may have..."

Sonic's eyes widened. He sat up and groaned. "We were drunk..."

Shadow nodded. "Then we came back here."

"And had sex..."

Both of them looked at each other in horror. Shadow instantly pushed back and got off the bed. "I can't believe this happened," she said.

"Me...either..." Sonic said. He had a strange look on his face, then stood up and left the room. Shadow frowned, wondering what he was up to. A few minutes later, he heard him yelling and sighed, knowing what he was doing.

Shadow ran into the same room as Sonic, frown on her face. The answer was obvious, but she asked anyway. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Sonic asked her, cuts on his arms.

She sighed, then grew angry and punched him in the face. Sonic fell to the ground, surprised.

"What the heck was that for?" He asked angrily.

"For cutting yourself again, what do you think?" she yelled. "What's your reason this time?"

Sonic hesitated and backed away. "Why do you think?" He asked. "We had sex, and we were drunk! What if you get pregnant?"

Shadow hesitated, before Sonic yelled again. "And you said you wouldn't hit me!" He screamed, holding his hands in front of his face protectively. "YOU LIED! YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE AT THE ORPHANAGE!"

"I was just angry. People do things they don't mean to when they're angry."

Sonic looked at her and began to cry. Shadow sighed, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Sonic." She held him against her, gently rocking. "I should get those covered. Don't go anywhere." Shadow stood and ran off to get the first-aid kit.

Sonic hesitated and rocked back and fourth, muttering under his breath. He picked up the knife and cut himself even more. When Shadow came back, she gasped in shock.

"Sonic!" she shouted. "Stop it!" Pulling the knife from his hand, she tossed it away from them and looked to see how much he had increased the damage. Her eyes widened. The muscles in his skin was showing, and some bones were also. No matter how hard she tried, the bleeding wouldn't stop. "We need to get you to a doctor," she said. "Come on."

She held up a Chaos Emerald and vanished. Once she got to the hospital, she saw a doctor.

"He needs help," she said. "He won't stop bleeding, and the cuts are too deep..."

The doctor nodded and took Sonic to the emergency room, then examined him. He frowned. "He's done permanent damage to the nerves in his arms," the doctor said. "Sonic will have no feeling in them from now on; we may have to amputate."

"They're damaged that badly?"

"Yes. How long has he been...cutting himself?"

Shadow shrugged; she didn't know. She looked back at the doctor. "I don't know, you'd have to ask him."

The doctor nodded. "Also...I would suggest psychological help. It seems that he has been depressed for a long time now, and is developing a major mental disorder as well as schizophrenia. Was he abused as a child?"

"He said he was."

"That explains it, then. He'll have to say here overnight; the amputation will take a while. I'm sorry about this."

Shadow felt tears come to her face. She nodded and left, then went home and called Tails.

"Hello?" Tails answered.

"Sonic's in the hospital," she said.

"What?" Tails asked. "How...how did that happen?"

"He...how much do you know about Sonic's state of mind?"

Tails was silent for a moment. "Not much," he said. "He always seems pretty happy around me and his other friends. Why?"

"He was depressed, and... cutting himself. I had to bring him to the hospital, and the doctor said he permanently damaged the nerves in his arms. He said they have to amputate."

"Oh, God..." Tails said. "What...why...why was he doing it?"

"He said he was abused as a child. I don't know why he was cutting himself now, though." Shadow was silent for a moment. "Are you all right, Tails?" She knew it was a lot for the fox to learn so suddenly.

"I...I..." Tails didn't know what to say. He had just learned Sonic's secret, and this shocked him.

"Do you need me to come over?" Shadow asked. She was worried the fox would start crying.

Tails hesitated. "N...no," he said, his voice cracking. "I'm fine."

The dial tone could be heard moments later. Shadow sighed and hung up, then gulped nervously. She hoped that Sonic would be all right.


	4. Schizophrenia

Chapter 4: Schizophrenia

Shadow didn't sleep much that night, too worried for Sonic. The next morning, she found herself looking at the phone every few minutes. She didn't know if the hospital would call, or if she had to go there.

A few minutes later, the phone rang and she instantly picked it up. "Hello?"

"Sonic is out of his surgery now. You can come visit him in about an hour."

"Thank God," Shadow said. "I'll be there soon." She hung up and waited. After an hour, Shadow ran to the hospital. "How is he?" She asked.

"See for yourself," the doctor said. He led her to Sonic's room and left them.

As soon as Shadow saw him, she gasped. Both of Sonic's arms were gone and there were nothing but stumps left. She hesitated and walked up to him.

"Sonic?" She asked, concerned. Sonic refused to look at her. She could see him crying, and muttering something under his breath. Shadow hesitated. "Sonic...I'm sorry this had to happen to you..."

Sonic shook his head. "I hate this," he said. "What are people going to think? I don't have my arms, how am I supposed to do anything?"

Shadow hesitated. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "Come on...let's get you home."

The hedgehog nodded. He tried to get up but couldn't support his weight and fell back down. He was useless.

Shadow helped him up, giving him a smile as she did so. "Can you walk? "Give it a try," Shadow said. She made sure Sonic was standing properly before releasing her hold on him. He hesitated and took a few steps forwards before losing his balance. Sonic fell to the ground as Shadow helped him up. She could see that he was crying. "You don't need to cry," she told him. "You'll be fine."

"It's not fine," Sonic said. "Nothing is. I've lost my arms, can't walk well...I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia...maybe I should just kill myself so I don't have to deal with this. It's not like anyone cares for me, anyway."

Shadow frowned at this; alarm bells were going off in her head. "Don't ever talk like that. Plenty of people care about you. Why else would I be here?"

Sonic shrugged and had Shadow lead him home. Sonic looked at his armless stumps and sobbed even more. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Tails came inside.

"Hi, Shadow. I just thought I'd come over to..." His words died on his lips when he saw Sonic. "Sonic!" Tails ran over, nearly crying with the hedgehog. Reaching out, he gently lay a hand on one of Sonic's armless stumps. "I can't believe..." Tails looked over at Shadow. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Shadow said. "He'll take some time to adjust to this."

Tails' ears lowered as he looked at Sonic. "I wish I could help..." Tails' ears perked. "You think I could make new arms for him? They'd be better than nothing."

"No..." Sonic said. He turned away as tears flowed down his face. "No, please..." He stood up and hesitated, looking at them. "Don't...hurt me...please..." he said, before walking upstairs to his room. Tails cringed and looked at Shadow.

"What was that about?" He asked her.

"The abuse, I think. Or maybe the schizophrenia."

Tails frowned. "Things are going to be a lot different now with Sonic's...conditions."

Shadow nodded. "I hope nothing else comes up." Shadow looked in the direction Sonic had gone and back at Tails. "You'll be here for him too, right?"

"Of course I will," Tails said. "I'll always be here for my best friend."

"I'm glad to have your help."

Tails smiled. "How do you like being a female?"

"It's all right." Shadow shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Being female isn't terrible, but I haven't felt much of a difference so far."

Tails nodded. "I see," he said. Shadow looked at him and smiled, then sighed and stood up. She walked upstairs and into Sonic's room. She walked upstairs and into Sonic's room. The armless hedgehog was sitting on the bed, still crying.

"What can I do?" Shadow asked. She hated seeing Sonic like this.

Sonic looked at her. "There's nothing you can do," he said.

"There has to be something that can cheer you up."

"I...I don't know, Shadow. It's not just this...it's also the incident we had a few days ago. What if you get pregnant?"

"Then we'll deal with that too." Shadow gave him a smile.

Sonic hesitated, and then nodded. "Alright," he said. Shadow smiled and kissed him. Sonic smiled against her lips. "Why are you doing this for me, Shadow?"

"Because...I love you, Sonic."

Sonic's eyes widened. "I thought you didn't like me."

"Of course I like you," Shadow said. "You're my friend...and I've fallen in love with you as well."

Sonic hesitated; he didn't know what to say. He didn't have feelings for Shadow. "That's... nice..." he said. Sonic looked away. He didn't want to make her dislike him by turning her down, but if he didn't love her...nodding, he looked back at Shadow. "I may not love you now, but I appreciate what you're doing for me. And if you are pregnant, I'm staying with you."

"You don't love me?"

Sonic nodded. "That's why I'm so worried. You should be pregnant by someone who loves you. Not some drunken round of sex with your friend."

Shadow sighed, and nodded. "I see..." Disappointment was in her voice. "Well, there's no telling if I will get pregnant or not. If you don't love me, that's fine."

Sonic smiled and nodded. He knew that he wouldn't develop feelings for Shadow, either. The hedgehog looked around the room and tried to stand up, then groaned. He could hear voices in his head. Multiple voices were all telling him different things. One told him how everyone thought he was a failure, another how he should kill himself, etc. Shadow noticed this.

"Are you all right, Sonic?" She asked.

Sonic shook his head. "No. Shut up!"

"What?"

Sonic groaned. "Shut the fuck up! Stop talking to me!" He yelled, grabbing his head. "STOP IT!"

Shadow frowned; this was bad, very bad. "Sonic, no one's talking to you." Shadow put a hand on Sonic's shoulder, unsure of whether or not he could actually hear her.

"But they are," Sonic said. "I'm hearing people talk to me. Can't you?"

"No." Shadow shook her head. "We're the only two in here."

Sonic shook his head. "I hear more people talking..." he said, then fell silent. Shadow shook him, but she didn't get an answer every time she spoke.

Shadow looked around, wondering if it was safe to leave him alone. She sighed and stood up, then left the room. Before she did, she looked back at Sonic, who had a blank expression on his face and was staring off into space. Shadow sighed and went downstairs.


	5. Appointment at the Doctor's

Chapter 5: Appointment at the Doctor's

"How is he?" Tails asked.

"Not good. He said he heard people talking to him, and now he's just staring off into space."

Tails hesitated. He sighed, shaking his head. Most likely Sonic's schizophrenia was getting worse. He needed psychological help. "We should get him psychological help," Tails said.

"I agree," Shadow said. "I'll make an appointment for him as soon as I can."

"I'll go see if anything's changed with him." Tails stood as he spoke.

He went into Sonic's room, but the blue hedgehog was the same as he was when Shadow had left. Tails frowned in sympathy for his friend and sat in the doorway, watching him.

"Are you okay, Sonic?"

The hedgehog didn't respond. Tails whimpered as his ears lowered. If Sonic wasn't responding, then he didn't know what to do. He sighed and shook his head, then went back downstairs.

"He's not responding?" Shadow asked.

"No, he's not."

Shadow groaned. "Alright. I'll make the appointment." She went to the phone and dialed the psychologist. A few minutes later, she hung up and turned to Tails. "He has an appointment in a few days."

"Alright," Tails said. "Do you think he'll go?"

Shadow shrugged. "If he doesn't want to, we'll have to make him." Tails nodded. He agreed with that. Shadow wondered if he should tell Tails what happened the other night. She sighed; it would be best. "Tails, there's something else I should tell you." Shadow paused. Knowing Tails should know and wanting to say it were two different things. "The other night, the two of us got drunk. When we got back here, we...had sex."

The fox's eyes widened. "Wh...what?"

"We had sex the other night after I became a female," Shadow said.

Tails gulped in shock. He sat down, looking at the female hedgehog. "Will you...get pregnant?"

Shadow shrugged; she didn't know. "I'm hoping not."

"I see...well...what do you think will happen?"

Shadow thought about it. "With Sonic? Tails nodded. "I like to think he'll get better, but after everything that's happened, I'm not so sure."

"Does he love you?" Tails asked.

Shadow looked away. "He only thinks of me as a friend."

"And what about you?"

The female hedgehog hesitated. "I...I've grown to love him," she admitted.

Tails' eyes widened, and he smiled. "At least you love him," the fox told her.

Shadow nodded sadly. "I just wished he loved me back. It would make this a little easier, at least."

"Anything is possible," Tails said.

Shadow nodded, and then sighed in disappointment. She knew there was no way Sonic would love her being the way he was now. In an effort to redirect her thoughts, Shadow asked Tails a different question.

"What should we tell everyone else? They're bound to start asking about him."

"I was actually planning on having them over tonight for dinner. We could tell them then."

"Sonic probably won't want to be there."

Tails shook his head. "You can stay here with him, if you want, or we could have the dinner here."

Shadow thought about it. Having the dinner here would probably be best. "We should have dinner here."

"Alright. I'll give everyone a call."

He smiled and dialed his friends. A few minutes later, he hung up. "They'll be here at six. Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, and the Chaotix are coming."

"What were you making?" Shadow looked back upstairs as she asked, starting to wonder if they should check on Sonic again.

"Fish and chips," Tails called back.

Shadow nodded.

* * *

A few days later, Shadow checked on Sonic. The hedgehog was still staring off into space. "Sonic," she said. "Can you hear me?"

The hedgehog didn't respond. He was muttering something under his breath and shaking, clutching his head. Shadow frowned. Going over, she listened to see if she could understand his mutterings. Her eyes widened in shock at what she was hearing. Sonic was muttering a lot of negative thoughts. She ran downstairs.

"Tails," she said. "Something is wrong with Sonic."

Tails looked up the moment he heard those words. "What's wrong with Sonic? What's going on?"

"He's...he's catatonic."

Tails frowned. "What should we do?"

"I don't know..." Shadow said.

"I'll call the hospital. They should be able to help."

The fox dialed the hospital, and soon hung up.

"They want us to take Sonic in," he said. "Can you go get him?"

Shadow nodded and hurried upstairs. Going over to Sonic, she figured out how to lift him from the floor. They soon reached the hospital and the doctors brought him into the examination room. The doctor who was examining Sonic sighed and frowned.

"Is he going to be okay?" Shadow asked.

"How long has he been like this?"

"A few days."

The doctor nodded and looked back at Sonic. He wasn't moving, just muttering under his breath. The doctor frowned and shook his head, then looked back at Shadow and Tails.

"I don't think he's going to be coming out of it any time soon. We'll do everything we can for him, though."

The two nodded. "What can we do for him?"

The doctor shrugged. "He could be put in a mental hospital," he said.

Shadow's eyes widened. "What? Why? W...when?"

"I don't know when. But if he doesn't get any better, we'll have to send him to one. Is there anything else wrong with him?"

"He's been hearing voices...hallucinating...and withdrawing himself from people."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, he should probably go to a mental hospital."

Shadow sighed, and nodded. "Alright," she said. "I...I suppose that's...best. When should he go?"

The doctor thought about it. Maybe tomorrow, or later today would work. "Within the next two days, I think. They'll be able to help him there."

"Thanks..." she said, and walked out of the hospital as Tails followed her.


	6. Shadow's Illness

Chapter 6: Shadow's Illness

When Shadow got home, she felt the urge to vomit and did so. Her stomach felt queasy. Shadow looked down at her stomach in confusion. "Maybe I should try eating something."

She sighed and vomited again just as the doorbell rang, but heard Tails answer it. Tails invited everyone to come inside and they followed him inside.

"Everyone's here, Shadow!" he yelled.

"I'll...be there...in a few...minutes," she said.

Tails frowned, hearing her vomit. Was it possible that she was... Tails shook his head. It was fully possible that she had gotten sick. He looked at the others and gave them a smile. He had to put his worried to the side for now. They had guests.

"How about dinner?"

"Sure," Shadow said. She walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. Everyone looked at her.

"Are you all right?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's Sonic who isn't."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked.

"A lot has happened to him," Shadow said. "Maybe we should talk about it after dinner."

They sat down at the table and began to eat, talking about what they had been doing lately. After dinner, Blaze looked at Shadow. "So where's Sonic? You mentioned he's not well."

"He's at the hospital." Shadow looked at Tails.

Everyone gasped in shock.

"Why?" Silver asked.

"The first time, he needed to be taken in for some..." Tails fell silent. "We should start at the beginning."

Shadow and Tails both explained Sonic's situation to the others, taking turns to fill in where the other couldn't. When they were finished, everyone was speechless. They had no idea that Sonic was that way. Shadow and Tails looked around at the others, waiting for someone to get their voice back.

"That's..." Blaze gulped. "That's...saddening. He'll be in a mental hospital from now on starting tomorrow?"

Tails and Shadow nodded.

"Will we be able to see him?" Silver asked. He was getting emotional now. Tears were already starting to run down his cheeks.

"I don't know," Shadow said.

Silver whimpered and looked down.

Tails gulped. "Sonic was...abused...as a child. He's been diagnosed with schizophrenia."

Knuckles chuckled. "So Sonic's insane! He always seemed like it." He laughed, and the others glared at him.

"This isn't funny, Knuckles." There was a growl in Shadow's voice as she spoke.

The echidna gulped and nodded. The others sighed, letting the information sink in.

"Is there anything we can do? At all?" Blaze asked.

Shadow shrugged. "I don't know if we can," she said.

"We can at least keep everyone safe for him," Knuckles said. "He'd hate it if we let something happen to the planet just because something happened to him."

Tails nodded. "I agree. Since he's...mental...now, we can't let anyone near him. He's probably dangerous to be around." He looked at Shadow. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a shame, but you're right. Hopefully, he'll get better and we'll be able to see him."

Everyone nodded. Knuckles, Blaze and Silver stood up.

"Well, we better go," Silver said. "it was...nice...to see you."

Shadow and Tails nodded, and watched them leave. The two remaining people sighed, looking at each other.

"That went about how I had been expecting," Shadow said. "What should we do now?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't know," she said. She felt the urge to vomit again and rushed into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out groaning. "I'm not feeling to well," she said. "I'll be at the doctor's office."

Tails nodded and Shadow left the house. It wouldn't be a good idea to run feeling sick like she did, so Shadow found a different way to get to the hospital. She used Chaos Control, and appeared in front of the hospital. A few minutes later, she explained her situation to the doctor, who examined her. When he was done, he smiled at her.

"I have good news," he said. "You're pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Shadow did a horrible job keeping her voice down. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"I did a pregnancy test. It's positive."

Shadow's eyes widened and she groaned, then shook her head. "This is bad," she said. "What should I do?" Shadow started panicking.

"You don't want the baby?" The doctor asked, confused.

Shadow shook her head, then told him what happened. "After everything that's happened to Sonic, I can't make him deal with this too," she finished explaining.

"Well...the only option, if you don't want the baby, is abortion."

Shadow shook her head. "I can't do that."

The doctor nodded. he smiled as Shadow left and went back home. When she got to the house, she lay on the bed and began to cry. Wiping her face didn't do her any good, more tears just taking the place of the ones she had just gotten rid of. No matter what Shadow did, she couldn't get her mind off what had happened.


	7. Pregnancy

Chapter 7: Pregnancy

Tails came in and saw her. "Shadow, what's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant!" she cried. Pushing her face into the pillow again, she resumed sobbing.

The fox's eyes widened in shock. "I'm assuming you don't want it?"

Shadow shook her head. She didn't want to abort it. Maybe she could give it up for adoption. "I do want it. I just don't think it's... Sonic has enough to deal with right now."

Tails thought about it. "Maybe you could raise it by yourself, or give the baby up for adoption when it's born."

Shadow hesitated; she was thinking about doing the latter. What she couldn't do was abort it; she didn't like that. "I'll see how everything turns out. Right now, I think I'm going to give it up for adoption."

Tails hesitated, and then nodded. He left the room and closed the door as Shadow continued to sob. If she and Sonic hadn't gotten drunk and had sex, this wouldn't have happened. "Why did I let that happen?" she asked her pillow. "If I hadn't been so stupid..."

She continued to sob. Shadow wasn't sure what to do now with Sonic in a mental hospital. Tails looked at the door one more time before whimpering and heading downstairs. Hearing her crying was going to make him start crying if he didn't find something to distract himself with. He hesitated, then went into his room and went to bed. All the crying eventually faded, turning to small hiccups as Shadow fell asleep.

The next day, Shadow woke up and went downstairs. The phone rang and she answered it; it was the mental hospital.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Is this Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"It is. To whom am I speaking to?"

"This is the manager of the hospital. We wanted to let you know that Sonic has been moved here."

"That...that's...nice," Shadow hesitated. "How long will he be there?"

"All we can say for certain is that he's going to be here for a long time."

"Can we visit him at all?"

"We'll let you know when you can."

Shadow nodded. "He's there because of his schizophrenia and other...complications, right? What will happen to him?"

The manager was silent for a few moments, and Shadow could hear him looking through some papers. "We're going to do our best to help him."

"Thank...thank you," Shadow said. She hung up and sat on the couch, sobbing in grief.

She didn't know what she would do if Sonic didn't recover. Shadow wouldn't be able to do anything; she loved Sonic, but he was...mental now, and wasn't like the Sonic she used to know.

"Tails!" she yelled.

The fox came running downstairs. "What is it?" He asked, concerned.

"The mental hospital just called. Sonic's been moved there, and they're going to do everything they can to help him."

"That's good. Can we visit him?"

Shadow shook her head. "He said they would call us when he was allowed to have any visitors." Shadow gave him a sad smile. "I don't think that's going to happen for a long time."

Tails sighed. "What will happen to him?"

"I don't know."

Shadow frowned and put a had on her abdomen. She had been thinking about it last night, and had come to a decision that she didn't want this baby. It would remind her too much of Sonic.

"Tails, I can't keep this baby. It'll remind me of Sonic too much."

"So, you're going to abort it?" Tails asked.

Shadow shrugged. She closed her eyes and nodded hesitantly. Tears came to her eyes and she began to cry. The moment the tears started down her cheeks, Tails put his hands on her shoulders.

"If the thought's making you cry, don't do it."

"Why shouldn't I?" Shadow asked him. "It was a mistake from the beginning. Sonic and I never meant to have sex; we were drunk! I love him, but he doesn't love me back yet! And now he's...he's..." She sobbed even more. "I can't have this baby!"

"All right, Shadow. I'll call the hospital and tell them you decided to have an abortion." Tears were building up in the fox's eyes as well as he watched Shadow sit there sobbing. "Please, stop crying."

Shadow stood up and ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She fell on the bed and continued to sob. Tails watched her run upstairs before biting his lower lip. Ears bending down, he tried not to whimper as he went to the phone and dialed the number. A few minutes later, he hung up. The appointment would be a few days from now. He walked upstairs and knocked on the door.

"What the hell do you want?" Shadow asked. "Go away!"

"I called the hospital, and the doctor set an appointment for a few days from now."

"That's fine. I just wish...Sonic was here."

Tails nodded and went downstairs.


	8. The Beginning of Insanity

Chapter 8: The Beginning of Insanity

The doctors looked at Sonic, sitting in his room. They couldn't get him to do anything.

"Sonic?" A doctor asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, noticing the armless stump.

The blue hedgehog did nothing. He sat there with a blank expression on his face and looked around. The doctor looked back at the others in concern.

"He still isn't responding. What should we do?"

"We may have to refer him to a psychologist," another doctor said. "This worries me. He was diagnosed a few weeks ago with schizophrenia and is already catatonic. Of course, he was abused as a child..."

"Let's find him one, then."

They nodded and looked at Sonic, then left the room. When they did, Sonic hesitated. He stood up, and began to write on the wall what the voices in his head were telling him, using his feet to do so. When he was done, Sonic sat back and stared at what he had written. The words said negative stuff like how he shouldn't have been born, how he should kill his friends and himself, etc. Sonic sat back down in the chair, muttering under his breath. When the doctors returned, they were mildly surprised by what he had written on the wall. They rushed to Sonic to find that his feet were bruised and bloody from what he had been doing. The schizophrenic looked at the doctors, afraid.

_They don't want to help you..._ he heard a voice in his head say. _These doctors are hurting you...keeping you prisoner...kill them...kill them now..._

Sonic hesitated, and then lunged at the doctors. The doctors moved toward the door, alarmed by Sonic's sudden lunge. Due to his actions over the past few hours, it was one of the last things they had been expecting from him. He moved at a fast speed; they couldn't keep up with him. A few minutes later, the doctors were dead and the room, along with Sonic, was covered in blood. The schizophrenic looked at them, then sat on the ground and began to cry.

It wasn't like him to do something like this, he knew it wasn't. But the voices wouldn't let him ignore them. Every time he tried, they just kept getting louder.

"Stop it..." he said. "STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!"

The manager of the hospital rushed in and gasped at the scene. Sonic had killed...and was now classified as highly dangerous. They had to get him somewhere else. The manager ran back out of the room, picking up the phone to call and see what they could do about Sonic. While he waited, he gave orders to the other people in the hospital. Eventually, the decided to transfer him to an insane asylum. He was too dangerous, and now they had reason to believe Sonic was insane too.

The manager sighed once he had hung up. It wasn't going to be easy getting Sonic transferred.

"Sonic..." he said, as he came back to the patients's cell. "Why did you do it?"

The hedgehog was silent for a moment. "Voices," he finally said, rocking back and forth.

"What do you mean by that?"

Sonic looked up at him. "They're telling me all these things, and they make sense, so I can't just ignore them."

The doctor sighed and looked up at the wall. "Did you write that?"

Sonic nodded.

"Why?"

"That's what they're telling me."

The doctor's eyes widened and he sighed. "Are you exhibiting any other symptoms besides the hallucinations?" He asked, pulling out a pen and paper to write down notes.

Sonic looked at the doctor in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There are other symptoms of schizophrenia besides hearing voices, like delusions, thought and movement disorders, lack of pleasure in everyday life, lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities, trouble focusing and speaking little. Have you had any of those? We know you've been severely catatonic."

Sonic thought over everything that had recently been happening to him. "I don't think so...maybe a little."

The doctor nodded and wrote down notes, then stood up. "We'll be transferring you to an insane asylum in an hour," he said, then walked out of the room and closed the door before locking it. Sonic sat there for a few moments before his eyes widened. Did the doctor just say insane asylum? But why?

"I don't need to go there," Sonic said. Shaking his head, he heard the voices start again.

_We told you they don't care,_ they said. _You're already insane...they want to lock you up...watch you...you know what you must do._

Sonic nodded. Then he closed his eyes before turning into his Dark form. The violent hedgehog blasted the door open, and walked out of the cell. It was time for the murder to begin. Everyone nearby looked over at the dark hedgehog in confusion at first. Once his gaze was trained on them, a feral grin broke across his face and he got ready. Even with no arms, he still had ways of killing people. The doctors tried to run away, not making it very far. Sonic was more than happy to use his speed now, even in such a small area.

He laughed and used energy beams from his mouth. Hovering in mid-air, his aura cracked and he closed his eyes, creating a large blast that engulfed the area, killing many doctors. More of them came to see what the commotion was, yelling for help when they saw. They proved no match for Sonic, however. he chuckled, then saw a knife on the ground and decided to use that to kill the remaining doctors, including the manager who had ordered his transfer.

Done with the killing, Sonic turned his attention to the doors. He chuckled darkly and then created a massive Chaos Blaze that slammed the doors open. Thunder, rain and lightning were outside, and the insane hedgehog grinned, then ran out of the hospital and into the city, still carrying the knife. Not many people seemed to be outside in this weather, and everyone who was didn't bother the hedgehog. In fact, most everyone the hedgehog went by ran away at the sight of him.

Sonic stopped and looked around; the voices in his head were growing louder. He thought about where to go.

_Somewhere they can't find you,_ one of the voices suggested.

The schizophrenic chuckled, then teleported out of the area and towards Christmas Island. It was time to have a little family reunion.


	9. Shocking News

Chapter 9: Shocking News

Back at the house, Tails had turned on the television to watch something. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the report about a mental patient that had killed everyone at the psychiatric hospital and just escaped.

"Shadow!" Tails called. "I think we need to do something about this!"

"What is it?" She asked, running downstairs. "What happened?" Her eyes widened as she saw the report. "A mental patient did this, and is loose? Who?"

"I'm assuming it was Sonic, but I could be wrong."

Shadow gasped and turned up the volume, listening to the report.

"Earlier tonight, a patient at Station Square Mental Hospital has escaped," the reporter said. "Security footage shows him murdering people violently with a knife before escaping. Police have identified him as Sonic the Hedgehog, and are searching for him as we speak. He is considered insane, and is armed and highly dangerous."

"I can't watch any more," Shadow said, looking at Tails. "Why would Sonic do this?"

"His mental illness?" Tails suggested.

"That explains it," Shadow said. "But...schizophrenia can't do this to a person...can it?"

Tails shook his head. "From what I do know, I wouldn't think so."

"Then why would he...?"

Tails just shook his head. "Should we try to stop him? It's our fault. We shouldn't have let him get this bad in the first place."

"It isn't or fault...he never told us he was like this. Things might have turned out differently if he had. And I don't think it would be a good idea to try and stop him...he could kill us, or worse."

"So we don't have any choice but to let him do this?"

"I...I don't know, Tails. We don't even know where the fuck he is!"

Tails backed away from Shadow, whimpering. "I'm sorry. I just..."

Shadow shook her head and sighed, then stood up and turned off the television. "We don't need to fill our minds with this kind of shit," she said.

"What do you want to do now?"

"Stay here. Lock all the doors and windows and set the alarm. We can't have Sonic getting in here."

Tails nodded and did so. Shadow sighed and sat on the couch. She put her hand on her abdomen, thinking about both Sonic and her baby. What was she going to do? Tails looked over at her, coming to sit beside her on the couch.

"Still thinking about the baby?" Shadow nodded. Tails leaned back against the couch and looked at Shadow's abdomen. "It's a great chance at life," he said. "Your baby will be great, I bet. Personally, I'd keep it but if you don't want it..."

Shadow looked over at Tails. "You're right. I never wanted to abort it in the first place. But if it'll just remind me of Sonic..."

"You could put it up for adoption."

Shadow nodded and sighed. If she went through with her pregnancy, she might change her mind about it. "What if I decide I want to keep it?"

Tails shrugged. "If you do, I'm sure you'll take good care of it." The female hedgehog hesitated, looking away. "What's wrong?" Tails asked.

"I...I don't know if I can take care of a baby," she said. "I've never been a mother...and I never really wanted this to happen. It was an accident. If I give birth to this baby, I'll put it up for adoption."

Tails nodded. "That's understandable. I'll be here for you, Shadow."

Shadow smiled. "Thanks," she said, and hugged him. Sighing, she went upstairs and closed the door, wondering what Sonic was doing.


	10. Murder on Christmas Island

Chapter 10: Murder on Christmas islanI

When Sonic reached Christmas Island, he looked around. He chuckled evilly and walked over to his parent's house. The voices in his head were growing stronger. Once there, he kicked the door. A few minutes later, the door opened and Manic stood there.

"Sonic?" Manic was surprised to see the state his brother was in. "What's happened to you?"

Sonic giggled. "They say I'm insane..." he said and walked inside. "Perhaps I am."

Manic frowned. "Sonic...are you okay? How did you lose your arms? What's..."

Sonic turned to glare at Manic. "I'll explain that later. Get everyone together, would you?"

His brother nodded and did so. Soon, Sonia and Aleena stood in front of him, shocked by his appearance.

"So," Sonia said. "What's going on?"

Sonic looked at his family and giggled again. Their faces turned to concern. The insane, schizophrenic hedgehog looked at them and grinned, then spoke. "I need a place to stay." Before any of them could say anything, Sonic explained everything that had happened.

Their eyes widened in fear.

"Uh...sure..." Manic said. Sonic nodded and went into his old room. The three hedgehogs went into their own, discussing Sonic. "He's insane," Manic told his mother and sister. "You saw him!"

"What do you want us to do?" Sonia asked. "He'll probably kill us if we don't let him stay here."

"I don't know...most likely he'll kill us anyway...we need to fight back if he does."

Aleena frowned, scared and sad for her son. "What we need to do is find him help that he can't kill," she said. Aleena hugged herself, looking down and away from her children. "I don't think that's possible, though..."

"What the hell should we do?" Manic yelled. "He already killed the people at the mental institution and escaped!"

"I don't know," Aleena said. "Why don't we think about it for a while? Something's bound to come to one of us."

The royal family nodded and lay down, thinking about Sonic.

In Sonic's room, the schizophrenic hedgehog was hearing the voices in his head again, and they were telling him terrible things about his family.

"No!" he shouted. "I don't believe you!" Sonic shook his head, wishing he could get them to stop it.

_Your family hates you,_ they said. _They'll turn you in...kill them like you did the others._

Sonic hesitated, looking at the knife he brought with him. An insane grin formed on his face and he giggled madly. "Yes, all right. If they're going to turn me in... They won't be giving me any other choice."

He chuckled and stood up, taking the knife with him. Exiting the bedroom, he went to their rooms and watched them sleep. They wouldn't suspect a thing... Sonic thought it over before deciding which one to kill first. Going into Manic's room, he went over to the bed and looked at his brother. He chuckled, then raised he knife telekinetically and drove it into Manic's skin. Then green hedgehog snapped his eyes open and screamed in pain as blood flew in the air, spattering Sonic. Sonic smiled down at Manic, enjoying the screams he was forcing from the other hedgehog. The blood on Sonic soon ended as Manic died. Chuckling madly, he was about to walk out of the room when he saw Sonia and Aleena run in. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw the scene.

"Sonic...why?" Sonia asked.

"Because the three of you are going to get rid of me!" he shouted. The knife was pointed at the two of them. Sonic's eyes narrowed. "You deserve it."

"Manic was right...you ARE insane..."

Sonic snarled at them and attacked before they had time to fully comprehend what he was about to do. They screamed in pain as the knife slashed their stomachs open. Blood gushed out, littering the floor with it. Aleena and Sonia gasped in pain as they fell to the floor in their own pool of blood. Sonic watched as the two of them died. He laughed maniacally, and then dipped his fingers in the blood and write a message on the wall. After he did that, he went back into his own room.

_Good,_ the voices said. _Eliminate anyone who wants to stop you._

Sonic nodded in agreement. That was what he planned to do. The insane hedgehog smiled and fell asleep. Next day, he got up. Police would have heard about this, so he had to leave. Closing his eyes, he teleported to the ARK.


	11. The ARK

Chapter 11: The ARK

Sonic looked around and nodded. This would work out fine. He chuckled and walked around the station, eventually coming to a room that had all kinds of serums in it. Raising a brow, Sonic went to get a closer look at the serums. His eyes widened in shock when he saw they were transformation serums, as well as ones for immortality. Sonic chuckled; these would work out nicely. The insane hedgehog took a closer look at the transformation ones, wondering what they could turn the person into.

Each transformation serum was for a different animal, none of them having the same label as one of the others. Most of them weren't interesting, either. He sighed, looking at them, and caught a few that interested him. One of them could transform him into Black Doom, another into the Biolizard, and one into Shadow. Sonic smirked, an idea forming in his head.

"I could use one of these ones," he told the voices. "They'll surely give my arms back, as well."

_They would strike fear into the hearts of many,_ the voices said. They continued to whisper, telling Sonic that he was useless, nobody cared for him, and other negative things.

Sonic looked at the three serums, wondering which one to use. Black Doom, the Biolizard, or Shadow? After some thinking, Sonic decided not to use the Biolizard. Judging from what he could remember, it couldn't go anywhere on its own. That would be worse than how he was now. Taking Shadow's form would at least serve as some amusement, though Black Doom would truly strike fear into people. Sonic thought about it some more, turning to the voices for advice.

"Who should I become?" he asked. "Shadow, or Black Doom?"

_Both could serve well. Both of them have a vast amount of uses..._ The voices fell silent, going over what they knew before telling Sonic. _Mix them together...you could become both._

"Yes. That's a great idea." Sonic looked around for a way to mix the serums, once again cursing the loss of his arms.

His pupiless eyes glowed and the serums hovered in the air as he telekinetically mixed them together, then poured it down his throat. Sonic felt pain in his body as he first began to transform into Shadow. Arms forced their way from his body, bursting out with massive amounts of pain. Blood flowed down his sides from his shoulders, covering the new arms as well. Getting a good look at them, Sonic laughed in triumph. As he laughed, his skin tanned to the darker shade Shadow had. His eyes also became red, eyeliner of the same color drawing itself onto him. Five of his quills got a red streak painted on them, the rest of the blue darkening farther until it was black. Black fur grew on his arms, matching red streaks shooting up the outer side. Streaks of the same kind shot up the outside of both legs as well. Sonic looked down in anticipation at his chest. The tan skin was quickly covered by black fur. A breath later, the white patch everyone seemed to notice grew out, fluffing itself in the process. Looking around at himself, Sonic smiled. Other than his clothing, it was perfect.

"Yes," he said. "This is perfect! Now for Black Doom's transformation."

Closing his eyes again, he grimaced as he felt his face altering completely. A third eye opened on his forehead, blinking a few times once it was fully formed. The two he already had didn't change too much, just becoming completely red and a bit smaller. A slit pupil came into the center of his third eye as it colored the same way as the other two. His ears flattened and moved to the side of his head before it continued changing. Becoming smaller, the quills were pulled back onto him to help form the head of the alien. Moving out to the sides, what looked like two long horns formed, tipped with red that reached halfway to his head. Multiple, smaller, horns came up out of the top of his head and Sonic couldn't hold back a howl of agony. Beneath his eyes, his entire face altered into something only resembling a face due to the eyes embedded in it. Muscles growing larger, Sonic felt an ache build up over his body. Looking at his arms, he watched as the fur fell off in a shower of red and black. The fur covering the rest of his body did the same and he was left standing in a pile of his own fur. Every inch of skin darkened until it was black. Fingers forced themselves together and molded, leaving him with only three on his hands. Long claws formed onto them, coming to a sharp point. The lower half of his body shifted and moved upward, molding into his torso and leaving him without legs. The alien looked down at himself in alarm.

Black Doom looked at himself and chuckled. This form was amazing. He smirked and took a serum, this one holding immortality, and plunged it into his skin. A tingling sensation filled his body, fading once the serum had done its job. Black Doom smiled, then began to walk around the ARK. He was comfortable here. The voices began to speak again. Black Doom looked in the direction he thought they were coming from. All of them were telling him the same kind of things, praising his form as well as insisting he got a move on. Instead, he growled at them.

"Enough," he said, holding his head. "Stop telling me what to do! Even though I am an insane schizophrenic, I do my own thing!"

_We are everywhere,_ they said. _Inside your head._

"Inside my head or not, I do not have to listen to you."

The voices fell silent, and Black Doom walked around the ARK. He was growing more paranoid by the minute. Every turn he went around, he expected something to be there. And no matter what he did, he felt like someone was watching him. The schizophrenic sighed; most likely his was another symptom of his mental illness. Shuddering again, he looked behind himself for what felt like the millionth time. Knowing it was all in his head didn't help matters at all. Black Doom frowned; he knew that he was slowly going insane. Maybe escaping from the mental hospital wasn't the best idea after all.

_Who knows if they would have helped you, though._ The voices started up again, all telling Black Doom it had been a good thing.

The alien frowned and thought about it. He nodded. "Yes...you're right."

_What are you going to do now?_

Black Doom chuckled. "If they say I'm insane, so be it," he said. "Using this form, I will strike fear into the people of Earth." He went through the ARK, looking out one of the windows at Earth. "Those damn fools deserve it for what they did to me," he said. "I'll make them pay...especially Shadow and Tails."

The alien laughed and started making his plans. He closed his eyes and teleported to the Black Arms planet. They looked at him, surprised.

"Master," one said. "We heard that Shadow killed you. How did you survive, and what is it you want with us?"

"Sonic has brought me back into being," he said. "Now I want you to help me get vengeance on Earth."

"Of course," they said. "When shall we strike?"

Black Doom gave it some thought. "I'd prefer to do it sooner..." They nodded, and waited for him to speak. "Meet me on the ARK in a few days," he said. "We'll strike then."

The Black Arms nodded and watched their leader teleport away. Once he got back to the ARK, Black Doom turned back into Sonic. He grinned and looked at Earth, giggling madly.

"Just you wait," he said. "You're all going to pay for how you've been treating me all this time."

He continued to giggle. Sonic was becoming insane, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.


	12. Adoption

Chapter 12: Adoption

So far, Sonic hadn't made any more appearances nearby. Tails and Shadow refused to let their guards down, however. Shadow was also progressing in her pregnancy. It had been a few months since she had found out, and was almost due for birth. Shadow looked down at her abdomen and smiled. Running a hand over it, she sighed. It wouldn't be long now, and she wasn't looking forward to going into labor.

"Tails," she said. "I'm going to give birth in a few days. What should I do with the baby?"

The fox looked over at her. "I'd say keep it, but I think you'd make a fine parent. In the end, it's up to you and what you think is best." Shadow thought about it. She wasn't really sure what to do. "You could always just give it to someone you trust. You have to know someone who wouldn't mind having a baby."

"Blaze would make a good parent and raise it well," Shadow said. "I'll probably give the baby to her."

Tails smiled and nodded. A few days later, Shadow was in the hospital, giving birth. Shadow did as the doctor said, trying not to cry at the pain her body was going through. Minutes later, she gave birth to a baby boy, Shadic. Shadow looked at her son and tears came to her eyes. He was adorable, more than she'd been thinking he would be.

"He's wonderful," Shadow said, then hesitated. More tears came to her eyes as the baby reminded Shadow of Sonic. She hesitated, then made up her mind. There was no way she could keep him. Petting Shadic on top of his head, she smiled down at him. "I'll see if Blaze wants you. That way, I at least know you're in good hands."

Shadic smiled at his mother. A few hours later, Shadow was released from the hospital. She sighed and walked to Blaze's house, then knocked on the door.

Blaze opened it and Silver was there too. "Hi, Shadow," she said. "Is this your baby? He looks adorable!"

"Thank you, Blaze." Shadow's smile faded. "I was wondering if you wanted to have him."

The cat's eyes widened in shock. "You're not keeping him?"

Shadow's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. "I can't. He reminds me too much of Sonic."

Blaze hesitated. "Come on in," she said, and Shadow did so. She saw the ring on Blaze's finger, looking at Silver also. He had the same one.

"When did you and Silver get married?" Shadow asked.

"A few weeks ago."

Shadow smiled and nodded. "So...will you two adopt Shadic? You two seem like you'd make good parents, and...I can't...keep him...not after what happened to Sonic."

The two looked down at Shadic before nodding.

"We'll take good care of him," Silver said.

"Thank you..." Shadow said, and handed Shadic over to him.

"Are you going to be all right?" Blaze asked Shadow.

Shadow sniffed; tears were running down her face, but she wiped them away. "Yes...I'll be fine..."

She turned away and walked out of the house before Blaze or Silver could say anything more. Shadow arrived home a few minutes later, still trying to get the tears to stop. She went upstairs to her room, locked the door, and lay on the bed, beginning to cry. Shadow stayed there for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile at Blaze's house, the new parents were holding Shadic in their arms, looking happily at the baby hedgehog.

"We should get baby supplies," Silver said.

Blaze nodded. "I'll go to the supermarket," she said. "You stay here and take care of Shadic."

Silver smiled and watched his wife leave. He smiled down at Shadic, who giggled up at him. "You're gonna be a great kid when you get older," he said. "I guess you are our son now." Shadic started crying then, startling Silver.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

The baby cried even more. Silver sighed and called Blaze. "What is it Silver?" Judging by the background noise, Silver assumed she was in the store.

"Shadic's crying, and I'm just wondering what I should do."

Blaze sighed as she continued walking through the store. "He's a newborn, maybe he's hungry."

Silver nodded. "But the only thing he can drink right now is breast milk."

Blaze nodded; she wouldn't be home for a few hours. She did hear that Tails had a gender-changing machine; maybe Silver could become a female to have Shadic drink until Blaze got there. "Ask Tails for assistance. He's got something that can make you into a woman for the time being."

Silver nodded and teleported to Tails' house, still holding Shadic. "Do you have anything that will make me female?" He asked the fox. Tails nodded. He allowed Silver to go in the gender-changing machine. When Silver came out, she was female. "Thanks a lot," she said.

Silver looked at Shadic and sighed. The baby was still crying, and Silver took him from Tails. Without giving much thought to it, she began feeding him right there.

Tails cleared his throat. "You know the transformation is permanent, right?"

Silver looked at him and nodded. "He'll just get to have two mothers," he said.

"I assume that Shadow let you and Blaze adopt him?"

Silver smiled. "Yeah." Silver looked down at Shadic. "Do you think Shadow will want to have anything to do with him?" Tails shook his head. "Not even a guardian?"

"I don't think so," Tails said. "But I can ask her about it."

Silver nodded and teleported back to her house, still feeding Shadic. Blaze shook her head and put the groceries away. "I see you've been busy."

Silver smiled and nodded, patting her son on the back. "Are babies usually this hard to take care of?"

Blaze thought about it. "I guess you can say that," she said. Silver smiled, then passed Shadic to her wife. "How come you're still female?" Blaze asked Silver.

"Tails said it's a permanent change." The female cat's eyes widened, and she thought about it. Silver bit her lower lip when Blaze was silent. "You don't like it do you?"

"It's fine...I was just surprised," Blaze said. She smiled and set Shadic down, then kissed Silver. Silver nuzzled her once she pulled away.

"I love you," she told Blaze. "Even if I am a female now, I'll still be yours."

Blaze smiled. Suddenly, Shadic started to cry again. "Why is he crying so much?" Silver asked.

"Babies do that when they're upset, hungry, want attention, and other things," Blaze said. She walked over to her son and picked him up, patting him on the back. "He's tired. I'll put him to bed."

Silver smiled and nodded. She yawned also and walked upstairs. After Blaze put Shadic to bed, she went into their room and fell asleep next to her wife.


	13. Black Doom

Chapter 13: Black Doom

Sonic paced back and forth in the room, discussing his plans with himself. He could still hear the voices in his head, and knew they would never go away. Sighing, he looked down at Earth. He sensed the Black Arms ship approach and transformed back into Black Doom. When the other Black Arms got in the room, he was waiting.

"Master," one Black Arms alien said, bowing in front of Black Doom. "What is your command?"

"I want you to attack Earth," he said. "I'll join you shortly." The aliens nodded and teleported away. Black Doom chuckled and closed his eyes as the voices grew stronger. "Yes, I know!" he shouted. The voices were urging him to go down there, telling him what he should do as if he didn't already know.

Black Doom sighed and grinned. Perhaps he should pay a visit to Shadow. Nodding, he teleported out of the ARK and appeared in front of Shadow's house. Knocking on the door, Black Doom couldn't help but wonder how Shadow would react to seeing him again.

"Who is it?" Shadow's voice asked. Black Doom could tell she had been crying.

"It's your father," Black Doom said.

A few minutes later, Shadow opened the door and glared at Black Doom. "What the fuck are you doing here, Doom? You are not my father!"

The alien chuckled and walked inside. "It's a nice home you have." Black Doom looked around the room he was in.

"Get the fuck out!" Shadow said, pointing to the door.

Black Doom ignored her. Going farther into the house, he looked around. "So, how's life been?"

"Fucking terrible," she said. "Sonic has been going insane, I got pregnant and gave birth to our baby but gave Shadic away for adoption."

Black Doom froze and turned to Shadow. She had given their baby away, even after he had told her that he would stay there to help raise it? "You gave away our baby?" he yelled. "I told you I would help!"

Shadow looked at him. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused. "You weren't there at all! I killed you, Doom, but apparently you survived! So how the hell could that baby have been yours? it's not yours; it's mine and Sonic's!"

Black Doom realized his mistake; he didn't want Shadow to know that he was Sonic. He was silent for a few moments, unsure of what she would believe. The alien hesitated.

"Why are you here?" Shadow asked him.

Black Doom looked at her. "Revenge, of course."

"For what? Me beating your ass?"

"Or you could join the Black Arms."

Shadow's eyes widened. "Why would I do that?"

"The son you had," Black Doom said.

Shadow's eyes widened and she hesitated, thinking about it. Finally, she nodded. "All...all right," she said.

Black Doom nodded as well, looking around the house again. "So... Why did you get rid of your baby?"

"Because...it reminded me too much of Sonic."

"Makes sense, I suppose."

Shadow nodded. "So...now that's out of the way, what are you going to do?"

"Take over this planet, with your help."

Shadow glared at the alien. "If you think I will help you again, you're wrong. I said I would join the Black Arms if it means my son is safe, not help you destroy Earth!"

"What else did you think I was offering him protection from?" Black Doom asked.

"You...want to offer him protection from Earth's destruction? Why?"

Black Doom growled. "Don't question my motives."

Shadow nodded. Black Doom hesitated and then stood, moving towards the front door. He turned around. "I expect you to arrive on the ARK by tomorrow," he said, before leaving.

Shadow sighed and sat on her couch once the door had shut behind Black Doom. She picked up the phone and dialed Blaze's number.

"Hello?" Blaze asked.

"How is Shadic?" Shadow asked.

"He's good," Blaze said. "We've been taking good care of him. What is it you want?"

Shadow hesitated a moment, unsure of whether or not he should explain what just happened. She sighed, and decided to explain. "Black Doom was just here." Shadow explained everything that had just transpired.

When she was done, Blaze's eyes were wide in shock. "What are you going to do?" She asked. "You're not going to join him, are you?"

Shadow scoffed. "Why would I?"

"Well...he did threaten you about your son."

Shadow nodded and thought. She remembered how Black Doom had reacted, and then her eyes widened. What if that wasn't Black Doom, but Sonic transformed? Looking back at the phone in her hand, she thought over mentioning it to Blaze. "Blaze...what if that was really Sonic in Black Doom's form?" She asked, now afraid.

"I don't think it matters which one it was. His plans are probably the same."

Shadow nodded. "But why would Sonic...become Black Doom?"

Blaze was silent for a few long seconds. "If he did, it most likely has something to do with his insanity."

"He's becoming more insane," Shadow said. We need to..." Suddenly, he heard a noise and screaming. Then everything was silent. "Blaze? Blaze, what happened?"

Shadow hung up and raced to their house. It was a mess; everything was in pieces. He saw Blaze and Silver on the floor, injured. Blaze looked at her.

"Black Doom...he's taken...Shadic," she said, before slipping into unconsciousness.


	14. Shadow's Decision

Chapter 14: Shadow's Decision

Shadow looked around the house again and pulled out her phone. Dialing 911, she waited for someone to pick up before explaining what they needed to know of the situation.

"Station Square Police Department," a voice said.

Shadow explained what she thought was necessary to the person on the other end of the line. The police arrived in minutes and examined the scene. Shadow hesitated and then ran out of the house.

"Tails," she said when she got to his house. "I need your help."

Tails looked up at the sound of her voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Black Doom...Sonic...has kidnapped Shadic. I need you to help me get him back. Sonic is very dangerous and he could do anything to my son."

Tails nodded. "Of course I'll help you. Did you have any plans?"

Shadow shook his head. "Not really. Sonic has transformed himself into Black Doom, and he told me to meet him on the ARK tomorrow."

"And now you don't have much of a choice but to go."

"He wants me to join the Black Arms. I told him I would, but that is just so that I can get my son back. I will not take orders from that insane schizophrenic."

"Are you going to find a way to fix Sonic?" Tails asked.

Shadow shook his head. "He can't be fixed. Sonic is ill, Tails. He's becoming more insane by the day. We need to capture him and lock him up in an insane asylum."

Tails looked away and nodded. "I...I know that."

The female hedgehog sighed. "Do you have any inventions that we can stop him with or use against him?" Tails nodded and walked inside, picking up some serums. "What are those?" Shadow asked.

"They can paralyze him, I think." Tails nodded, looking at the serums. "Then you can bring him to an insane asylum."

"Great," Shadow said. "Anything else?"

Tails nodded and threw Shadow a serum that would transform her into a Black Arms alien. "Use this to infiltrate the Black Arms."

Shadow smirked and nodded. "All right." She looked at the serum.

"Are you going to take it now, or later?" Tails asked. "I'm not sure if it will be permanent or not; most likely it is."

"I'll keep it for when I have no other choice."

Tails smiled. "Alright," he said. "Let's come up with a plan, then. You'll go to the ARK to meet Sonic/Black Doom. What are you going to do when you get there?"

"See what he wants, I guess." Shadow shrugged.

"Alright," Tails said. He gave both serums to Shadow, who pocketed them. She looked at the Black Arms one; it would be good to use in a few days.

"Anything else I should do before going up there?" Shadow asked.

"That's it."

Shadow nodded. "Thanks, Tails." Tails smiled and watched Shadow leave. A few days later, Shadow arrived at the ARK. When nobody was there waiting, she yelled. "I'm here!"

Sonic appeared in front of her. "You came," he said, chuckling. His eyes shone madly. "The voices told me you would."

"Why did you take Shadic?"

Sonic chuckled. "Because...you took him away from me. I told you that I wanted to raise him with you, Shadow. I told you that I would stay with you after you gave birth. Why did you send our child away?"

"You weren't there, and you weren't going to be there." Shadow shook her head as she spoke. "He reminded me too much of you."

The schizophrenic's eyes widened. _Shadow doesn't care for you,_ the voices said. _Kill her...kill Shadic...make them suffer like they did to you._

Sonic nodded and transformed into Black Doom. Shadow's eyes widened as he did so. "Sonic? What are you doing?" Shadow backed away from the alien. The alien raised its hands and sent out a ball of energy towards Shadow. She dodged the blast and looked at it. "What are you doing?" She yelled at Black Doom.

"I'm going to kill you, and then our son." Black Doom threw another ball of dark energy at Shadow.

Shadow's eyes widened in fear. She held out her hands to stop the energy ball but skid back as it hit her. She screamed in pain, then took out the Black Arms serum, looking at it. Black Doom noticed this and chuckled.

"Go on...take it."

Shadow looked up at Black Doom then back at the serum. Closing her eyes, she injected the serum into herself. A massive pain filled her body. Groaning, she began to transform. Pain erupted in her forehead as Shadow groaned. A third eye opened, red like the others. Directly above that, she felt a gem embed itself into her head. Wincing, Shadow moved a hand to her head as Black Doom watched with interest. Her hands changed to having only three fingers, each with a sharp claw. All the black and red fur over her body flattened into her skin, causing her to shudder. Looking down at herself, Shadow saw as the white fur covering her breasts became thinner. Wincing, she felt her feet shift to have only three toes and her tail extend in length. It curved around her body, lightly resting on the floor. A large arrow tip formed at the end of her tail during the process. Both the irises and pupils of her eyes dissolved into red orange as the color filed her eyes. The third eye did the same, pupil becoming silt rather than disappearing. Shadow looked at herself in confusion before looking at Black Doom. This wasn't what she had been trying for.

"Interesting," Black Doom said. "You still look like a hedgehog."

"I wasn't supposed to...why didn't it work properly?"

Black Doom threw her another serum. "This will make you a full Black Arms alien. You'll look like the Black Bull."

Shadow nodded. "Why are you giving me this?" Shadow looked at the serum in her hand.

"Because you must become a Black Arms if you want to save your son."

Shadow looked at the alien, more confused now than before. Black Doom wasn't supposed to help her. Taking a breath, she injected the serum into herself. Minutes later, the Black Bull stood in Shadow's place. It roared loudly. Black Doom laughed and turned back into Sonic.

"Finally you are under my command!"

Blsck Bull's eye widened. It should have known Sonic would do something like this. The Black Bull tried to attack Shadow, stopped by the other's control over it. Sonic laughed in triumph and turned into Shadow. Looking around the area, he thought about what to do next. Now that he had Shadow on his side, there wasn't any real point to killing Shadic.

"I suppose we can put my plans in motion now."

The Black Bull growled. It broke free of the mind control and lunged at Sonic. Sonic's eyes widened as the Black Bull lunged at him, vaguely wondering how it broke free. It roared and began to attack him, turning into Shadow as it did so. Sonic dodged back, looking around for something to use against Shadow. He'd normally be evenly matched, but Shadow had never attacked him with this much anger before.

"You'll never control me. Why are you doing this?" Shadow asked.

"Because they deserve it for everything they have done to me." Sonic turned his head a bit, listening to the voices that were starting up again.

_Kill Shadic..._ they said. _That will break Shadow's heart._

Sonic chuckled and brought out his son.


	15. To Kill a Fox

Chapter 15: To Kill A Fox

Shadic looked around and stared crying. His mother's eyes widened in alarm.

"Don't hurt him!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Sonic asked, moving the knife towards Shadic. An insane grin was on his face.

"You're fucking insane." Shadic saw the knife and cried harder. "Leave him alone!" Shadow yelled.

Sonic raised a brow at Shadow, stopping the knife once it was against Shadic's throat. "Why should I? You're not listening to what I want."

"Don't harm my son. He's yours as well."

"You're the one who got rid of him in the first place. That usually means you don't want them."

Shadow hesitated. "You're right...I don't want him."

"Then why do you care if I kill him?" Sonic narrowed his eyes at the darker hedgehog, pressing the knife harder against the wailing baby's throat. The other hedgehog turned her back. "What should I do?" Sonic asked the voices. "She doesn't care as much as we thought."

_Kill him._

Sonic hesitated and looked at Shadic. The baby looked so innocent. Sonic looked back at Shadow, lowering the knife a few inches. Looking back at the baby, he smiled.

"Innocence can be corrupted...if you don't want to care for him, I shall. The two of us created him. Imagine what kind of powers he must have."

Shadow hesitated. Then she teleported off the ARK. Landing back on Earth, she looked around. Tears came to her eyes and she fell on her bed sobbing. Sonic was wrong; she did love her son. She just didn't want him. Wiping her face on her pillow, Shadow allowed herself to give into crying yet again. She sniffed and called Blaze.

"Hi, Shadow," Blaze said.

"Hi, Blaze. How are you doing?"

"Fine. What about you? You sound upset."

"I went to the ARK, like Sonic wanted." Shadow explained what had happened on the ARK.

Blaze gasped. "What happened to Shadic?"

"Sonic still has him. I don't think he's killed him."

Blaze sighed in exasperation. "What are you going to do?"

"Find a way to stop him. It didn't work at all this time, but there has to be something we can do."

"All right. Talk to Tails about it; I'm sure that he'll come up with something."

"I'll do that later." Shadow sighed. "Bye, Blaze."

"Talk to you later, Shadow."

Shadow hung up and sighed. She looked around the house before turning into her Black Arms form. If she was going to use it, she might as well get properly acquainted with it. There was also her Black Bull form she had as well, but she didn't have much control in that form. The Black Arms alien sighed and closed her three eyes, concentrating on what her new form could do. Her usual abilities were there, which she was glad for. Going outside, Shadow tested how strong they were. She looked around and began to test her abilities. They were enhanced thanks to this new form. What she didn't notice was that Sonic was hiding in a nearby bush watching her every move. He held Shadic in his arms, who was asleep.

Sonic smiled as he watched. With her abilities strengthened like that, he figured they could be a nuisance. But he would win in the end, he was sure of it. The voices in his head had told him so. He knew now to listen to them only. An insane grin appeared on his face and he teleported out of the area. It was time to see Tails. When he reappeared, he smiled at the house. Tails was always a good friend.

"Who is it?" He heard Tails yell.

"It's me, Tails!" Sonic yelled back. Tails' eyes widened in fear. "Open up!" Sonic called. If Tails didn't get the door, he'd have to open it himself.

"What the hell do you want?" Tails shouted. "Go away, you insane freak!"

"I just want to see you, Tails." Sonic looked at the door, deciding on what would be the best way to break it down.

Tails still didn't answer. Sonic sighed, and began to break the door down. Inside, Tails was calling Shadow.

"What is it, Tails?" Shadow asked as soon a she had picked up the phone.

"S...S...Sonic...is...here..."

"I'll come over, Tails. Just don't let him kill you."

Tails nodded and hung up. Outside, Sonic turned into Shadow to trick Tails and walked inside a few minutes later. Tails looked over when he heard walking. Seeing Shadow, he got up and ran over.

"Shadow," he said. "Thanks for coming. Where did Sonic go?"

Shadow smiled. "I don't know. Maybe he remembered something else he had to do."

Tails nodded and looked at Shadow.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," Tails said. "I was just wondering what Sonic was doing here anyway." Shadow smiled and nodded. She walked around the house and sat down on the couch. Tails sat beside her. "Other than Sonic coming over, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Shadow said with a grin. She stood up and went outside, looking to see if the real Shadow had appeared yet. Seeing her, she turned back in Tails' direction. "I have something to give you," she said.

Shadow brought out a knife and advanced on Tails, whose eyes were wide in fear. Shadow dug the knife into his chest just as the real Shadow appeared. "Tails!" Shadow yelled. "What are you doing, Sonic?" Shadow ran into the room as she yelled.

Sonic, in the form of Shadow, turned to her and chuckled, digging the knife deeper into Tails' chest. The fox coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Shadow growled at the other Shadow, and attacked her. The false Shadow chuckled, attacking her as well. Shadow transformed into her Black Arms form during their fight and went to attack again, noticing Tails to the side. The wound was taking its toll on him, and was dying. She needed to get Tails to the hospital soon. Sonic was still transformed as Shadow, and smirked. His job was done, and he vanished. Shadow sighed and shook Tails.

"Tails? Can you hear me?" she asked. Shadow looked around for the phone so she could call an ambulance.

The fox's breathing was slow. Shadow sighed and called the hospital. A few minutes later, an ambulance appeared and took Tails to the hospital. Shadow growled in anger; she had to stop Sonic at all costs.


	16. Torture

Chapter 16: Torture

"He attacked Tails," she reminded herself. "He isn't Sonic any more." She sighed and shook her head, then went over to Blaze and Silver's house. "Blaze," she said as she arrived. "I need to talk to you."

The two females looked at Shadow in shock.

"What the hell happened to you?" Silver asked.

"Sonic attacked Tails," Shadow said. "Tails called me and I went as fast as I could, but I was a little too late."

"No, I mean..." Silver motioned to Shadow's new form.

"Oh. Tails gave me a serum that was supposed to help fight the Black Arms. I don't know why it made me look like this."

"That's cool. Do you have another form?"

Shadow nodded and transformed into the Black Bull. Blaze and Silver's eyes widened and they looked at it. The Black Bull looked at them, quickly turning back into Shadow. She gave them an apologetic smile. "I don't have much control in that form."

"That's okay," Blaze said. "It looks cool. Anyway, what can we do about Sonic?"

"I've been trying to figure that out myself." The three sat down.

"Tails gave you some paralysis serums," Blaze said. "We could use them."

Shadow nodded. "That could work. But what should we do about his army? I don't think it would be a smart idea to just go up there and attack them."

"You have your Black Arms forms that will help. The ARK has many transformation serums that we two can use to make yourselves more powerful."

"Just the three of us?" Silver asked. "Even with those, do you think that'll be enough?"

"They probably will. GUN can handle the Black Arms."

Silver nodded. "Okay. We should do it soon."

Shadow smiled at her. They sat on the couch, and began to plan.

Sonic appeared on the ARK. The voices in his head were growing stronger. he had heard that the police had issued a manhunt for him, but Sonic knew that they would never find him. He chuckled and looked at his son.

"You need to be trained," he told him.

Shadic looked at him curiously. Sonic chuckled, then lifted him up telekinetically and began to abuse his son. Shadic started loudly crying. Sonic chuckled and kicked him even more. After he did that, he set his son down. He would abuse him just like the people at the orphanage did, and then Shadic would turn out the same way. Turning, he walked off ad left Shadic there crying. The insane, schizophrenic hedgehog looked around, paranoid. He had to get off this station. Sonic left in a hurry, teleporting from the ARK. He left Shadic there, still crying. The maniacal hedgehog looked around in the city, calling off his army as he transformed into Black Doom. There was no need for the Black Arms to be here anymore.

The Black Arms retreated from the city and returned to his location, bowing.

"Why are we retreating?" one asked.

"You have done your deed, my army, but I can take it from here. Go back to your home planet and I will call on you when needed."

The Black Arms nodded and left as he had commanded. Sonic chuckled before turning into his Dark form. He had to make the others pay, especially Shadow. He ran to Shadow's house to see if she had returned there. Upon not finding her, he checked Tails'. He barged inside and saw nothing. Growling in anger, he wondered where she was. Going to the hospital wouldn't help at all; it would only give him more trouble. Sonic thought over all of their friends in an effort to decide which one Shadow would be with right now.

Most likely she would be at Silver and Blaze's house. That decided, Sonic once again ran through the city until he came to their house. He kicked the door open and walked inside, looking around. Nobody seemed to be in the house. Frowning, Sonic decided to search the entire place.

"Where the fuck are you?" he shouted at the top of his lungs, trashing the place. Shadow came in from the backyard and stood in the doorway, startled to see Sonic there. Sonic turned and saw her. "You..." he said.

Shadow's eyes widened and she backed away. Sonic ran in front of her and lifted her up by telekinesis.

"What do you want?" Shadow yelled at him.

Sonic chuckled. "I want to make you suffer, you fucking piece of shit."

Shadow growled. "What did I do?"

Sonic laughed and giggled. He shook his head and looked at Shadow. Shadow stared at him in confusion, wishing she could do something other than float there.

"What the hell do you want?" She yelled.

"I already told you." Sonic yelled back. Looking to the side, Sonic ignored Shadow to figure out what to do with her now.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet." Sonic looked back at her, hoping for inspiration.

Shadow hesitated as Sonic dropped her. The insane hedgehog turned to the voices in his head for ideas.

_You could torture her,_ one of the voices said. _Nobody enjoys being tortured._

Sonic chuckled and nodded. _Can we help?_ another of the voices said.

Shadow was moving away from Sonic now that he had dropped her. She had no idea what the voices were telling him. but she had to get away. The insane hedgehog smirked and brought out a knife.

"Get ready to get tortured," he said, and sliced the knife across her chest.

The sweet sound of screams was all he heard.


	17. The Hospital

Chapter 17: The Hospital

Sonic looked at the long gash he left across her chest. A smile was on his face as he looked her over. Shadow stared up at him, fear filling her eyes. Laughing, he continued to torture her. Shadow kept screaming, causing Sonic's smile to grow larger with each cut he made into her body. The female hedgehog screamed as Sonic cut in her chest. Shadow had never felt such pain in her entire life. Tears came to her eyes, flowing down her cheeks. Each twitch of her body worsened the pain. Blood ran down her chest as Sonic cut into her arms, damaging the nerves and other parts in her body. When he was done, Shadow was a broken, bleeding mess. Sonic stood back and smiled down at her. She was a masterpiece.

"Excellent," he said. "Most of the bones in your body are broken. You'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of your pathetic life."

Shadow whimpered pathetically as Sonic left her there. A few minutes later, Silver came back. "Shadow!" She yelled, running up to her. "Oh God...what happened to you?"

Silver lifted Shadow, getting a small cry of pain from the other hedgehog.

"My legs...I can't feel anything," Shadow cried out. "Sonic...tortured me and broke most of my bones..." She suddenly had a stroke and fell unconscious.

"I'll call the hospital," Silver said.

Shadow nodded as Silver did so. A few minutes later, paramedics arrived and put Shadow in the ambulance. A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital.

"Will she be okay?" Silver asked the doctor.

"We don't know yet. You're welcome to wait here until we do."

Silver nodded and waited. An hour passed and the doctor had Silver come into the emergency room. Shadow had a breathing mask on her face and bones were sticking out of her body. Silver's eyes widened.

"What will happen to her?" She asked the doctor. "Will she have to be in a wheelchair?"

The doctor nodded. "I'm afraid so. She's going to have to be on life support for a while."

"Anything else?" Silver asked.

"Not that we know of." The doctor shook his head. "I'll let you know the moment anything else does."

The doctor brought out a wheelchair, filled with life support equipment on it. They had healed Shadow's injuries and had her sit on the chair. She was hardly moving.

"What's wrong with her?"

"The torture she was put through caused her to have a stroke, and now she's in a vegetative state."

Silver's eyes widened. "Oh my God...that's terrible. How...how long will it last? Will she have to stay here?"

"We don't know how long it's going to last." The doctor sighed. "It may be best to keep her here."

Silver hesitated and nodded. Tears filled her eyes and she left the hospital. when she got home, Blaze saw her.

"What's wrong, Silver?" Blaze walked over and put her hands on Silver's shoulders, looking into her tear-filled eyes.

"Shadow...she's at the hospital in a vegetative state. Apparently Sonic tortured her and she had a stroke."

Silver sobbed into her wife's shoulder. Blaze rubbed her back. "And you found her? I'm sorry, Silver." Blaze hated to think of what Shadow must have looked like.

"I don't know how long she'll be like that..."

Blaze kept rubbing her back. "They'll do everything they can for her. Don't worry too much."

Silver nodded, wiping her tears away. She stood up and kissed her wife. "Let's hope so."

"What do you want to do now?" Blaze stroked the side of Silver's face.

Silver thought about it. then she smiled and kissed Blaze. They walked into their room and lay on the bed, beginning to have sex. When they were done, Blaze gave Silver a smile.

I love you," she told her partner.

"I love you too."

Silver smiled and kissed Blaze. They got up and looked at each other.

"What are we going to about Sonic now?" Silver couldn't help but worry about it. "After he did that to Shadow..."

"We need to take those serums Shadow told us about," Blaze said. "They would make us more powerful."

"I'm worried about Shadow, though. Maybe we should wait."

"How long should we wait?"

Silver thought about it and sighed. "A few days at the longest."

"Alright," Blaze said. "We'll wait until then."

Silver smiled. She nodded and kissed her partner. Silver and Blaze went to the hospital to check on Shadow before going up to the ARK.

"How is she?" Silver asked the doctor.

The doctor shook his head. "Not any better, I'm afraid."

Silver sighed. She looked at Shadow and so did Blaze.

"What can you do for her?" Blaze asked.

"We'll put her on life support but she could be like this for a long time, possibly forever," the doctor said.

Blaze nodded, placing a hand on Silver's arm. She didn't think Shadow would like that, but if it was all they could do for her, they didn't have much of a choice.

"I see..." Silver said. "Thanks..."

"The best thing we can do for her is stop Sonic," Blaze said. "Even if she isn't exactly here, I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

Silver nodded and the two females left the hospital.


	18. The Battle in the ARK

Chapter 18: The Battle in the ARK

They teleported to the Ark and looked around.

"Nobody seems to be here at the moment," Blaze said. "Which area do you think Sonic's in?"

Silver shrugged. She looked around and saw the room with the transformation serums. "We need to grab some of those, don't we?"

Blaze nodded and grabbed some. The serums they had could transform them into a bear, plane and centipede. "Come on, Silver. We need to find Sonic. Have you ever been here before?" The two started down one of the hallways. Silver shook her head. "Neither have I..." Blaze looked around as they walked.

"When should we use these serums?" Silver asked her.

"When we have to."

The female hedgehog nodded and continued to walk. They soon heard a noise like a baby crying. Both sets of ears stood straighter and they looked around for the source. They walked into a room and saw Shadic. He had cuts and bruises across his body.

"Shadic!" Blaze yelled. The two women ran into the room. The baby hedgehog saw them and held out his arms. Silver picked him up and soon his crying stopped. "Who did this to him?" She asked her partner.

"It must have been Sonic." Blaze looked around for the blue hedgehog, but didn't see him.

A few minutes later, they heard a voice. "Step away from my son."

The two looked behind themselves at the hedgehog now standing in the doorway.

"Sonic..." Silver said. "What the hell are you doing to your son?"

"I'm raising him."

"By abusing him? You're doing the same thing that you went through as a kid!"

Sonic looked at the two with confusion. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Blaze and Silver nodded, and the female cat spoke. "Of course there's something wrong with it. Abuse is never a good thing."

Sonic giggled. "Well, I don't care! I'm raising my son and you can't do anything about it!"

He turned into Shadow and lunged at them. Blaze summoned fire, throwing it in Shadow's direction as she attacked them. Silver moved away, not wanting to be hit by any of it. Shadow brought out his knife and used his telekinesis on the couple. Silver countered it with her own and was thrown back. As she was thrown back, Silver managed to keep her hold on Shadic. Shadow growled and became Sonic. Using his speed, he snatched Shadic from Silver's hands. The two females looked at each other and brought out the centipede and plane serums.

"Do you think these will help at all?" Blaze asked.

"They will," Silver said. She held the centipede one and plunged it into her arm then began to transform. An itching started all over the hedgehog's body as she stood there. Shuddering,she stared in horror as the fur and quills fell off him. Left in its place was his bare skin. Silver looked around at her body in shock. She never had known what she looked like under everything, nor had she ever wanted to find out. Pain ran down both of her sides, extending its reach down his legs as well. Sixteen pairs of large insect legs ripped from her body as her arms shrunk to match. Silver screamed in pain, the sound echoing through the room. Both legs fused together into a single mass adding to her body. The feet at the end formed the back end of the centipede. Her head changed at the same time as her insides, the intensity of the pain bringing another scream from her until she was incapable of it. Long antennae curved off her head as the eyes and pincers took the place of everything else. In seconds, she was done and shrank down to a normal centipede's size.

In a few minutes, she had turned into a centipede while Blaze began to transform into a plane. Blaze injected her serum into her arm as well before closing her eyes. Spreading her arms, she felt them grow heavy. Blaze winced and fell forward to the floor. Once she hit, the pain in her front had her gasping. Unable to lift her arms, Blaze panicked for a brief moment. Her legs were just as heavy, and she could feel her fur hardening. Closing her eyes again, Blaze let out a calming breath. She presumed this was normal. Both legs fused together, tail lifting up near the end to form the upper part of the tail. Her feet bent to the sides, completing the tail of the plane. Both arms forcefully angled downward. The fur on top of her head formed the glass window of the cockpit. The rest of the plane's nose took shape, painfully altering her head in the process. At the tips of her wings, missiles took shape, ready to fire at her order. Blaze's form lifted off the ground high enough for the underbelly to form, giving her natural body a much larger curve before altering to the metal of the plane. More weapons came off the underside as the insides changed as well. Its mind became an AI controlling the jet, quickly getting used to the different commands it could give.

Sonic's eyes widened and he chuckled, looking at them. The centipede scuttled up and began to attack with its small pincers so it could poison him.

"You really think this will work?" Sonic laughed.

The centipede scuttled up to him. He tried to kill it but it moved too fast. He heard the plane's engines rev up and looked at it. It flew outside and began to fire on him. Growling, he avoided most of the shots. the centipede was hard for him to keep track of while he did , he felt a sting and yelled in pain. Looking down, he saw the centipede crawling up his leg. It was a hideous thing, and he was already beginning to feel the effects of the poison. Sonic shook his leg in an effort to get the centipede off of him. The distraction gave the plane the opening it needed, and it fired at Sonic again. He yelled in pain as the bullets hit his stomach. Blood came out of the wounds and he fell to the ground. The place circled again as Sonic watched the centipede climb its way up his body.

"Get off..." Sonic growled. The wounds hurt too much for him to move again.

The centipede said nothing. It continued to crawl up his stomach and stung him once more before burrowing into his belly button. Sonic's eyes widened and he screamed in horror as he saw it inside him. His telekinesis flared up as he tried removing the centipede. He didn't dare change into something else; it would probably just be stuck in his body. The telekinesis did nothing. He transformed into Black Doom and tried to remove the insect but couldn't.

Black Doom looked around in disgust and worry as he heard the plane nearby again. A massive explosion rang the ARK as the plane shot torpedoes as him. The alien roared and tried to deflect them but couldn't. He could also feel the centipede poison him from the inside. The alien winced as the poison spread quicker than before. The torpedoes luckily didn't hit him head-on, though he would've preferred that outcome.

"Should you really be firing those at me?" Black Doom asked. "You might hit Shadic."

The plane stopped firing and landed. Black Doom fell to the ground as the centipede continued its way through his body. He turned back into Sonic and began to feel sick. The centipede was like a parasite.

"Damn thing..." Sonic felt like he was about to vomit, leaning over on the floor.

He did so, and fell unconscious. The place turned back into Blaze and grinned, then looked at Sonic.

"Can you come out, Silver?" she asked. Turning Sonic onto his back, she wondered what to do with him.

The centipede didn't do anything. Blaze frowned; she wondered if it got stuck in his body. Sighing, she thought about taking Sonic to the hospital, or the insane asylum. Looking around, she made sure to find Shadic before lifting Sonic. She'd take him to the insane asylum and allow them to decide what to do with him. Picking Shadic up as well, Blaze teleported out of the ARK and walked inside the insane asylum.


	19. A Parasite

Chapter 19: A Parasite  


"I hear you've been looking for Sonic," she said, giving him to the doctor. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Lock him up, for starters. We don't need him getting out again. What happened to him?"

"He...has a centipede inside his body. It poisoned him, and isn't coming out. Should we get it out of him, or...?"

The doctor shook his head. "We aren't even sure where it is within his body."

Blaze nodded. The doctor had Sonic locked up inside a cell, and called off the search. The cat gulped, hoping he wouldn't get out. She hesitated and left the hospital, wondering what would happen to Sonic.

Looking down at Shadic, she gave the baby a smile. "I'll take better care of you than you've been getting the past few days."

Shadic nodded, and Blaze walked home. She put him in a chair and sat down, picking up a picture of her and Silver. Placing a hand over it, she sighed. If Silver didn't survive this, she was going to be greatly upset. Blaze looked back at Shadic, thinking about his father. Shadow was still in the hospital, as was Tails. Shadic flinched and started crying again as he sat where Blaze had put him.

Blaze's eyes widened and she picked up her adopted son. "Come on," she said. "It's time for bed."

* * *

Sonic woke hours later, lying in the bed the doctors had put him on. Pain was still coursing through him.

"Where the fuck am I?" He asked. The hedgehog cringed as he felt the centipede still running through him. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and sat down across from him.

Sonic glared at the man.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

"Horrible," he said. "Now where the fuck am I?"

_They captured you,_ the voices said. In an asylum. _You must escape._

"We can help you, if you only let us," the doctor said. "You're in no fit condition to go anywhere."

Sonic giggled and looked around. "Help?" he asked. "You can't help me. I can escape this place anytime I want to."

The doctor frowned; that wasn't going to happen. "No, you must stay here. Trust me, Sonic. I have no desire to harm you."

"Yeah right...like you and the others harmed me?"

"Sonic...you are mentally insane. You're a schizophrenic, and a dangerous person. You killed your family, put your friends in the hospital, and kidnapped and abused your son. We'll have to press charges."

Sonic shook his head. "I had to do it. What would they have done to me if I hadn't?"

"Why did you do that?"

"I just told you, I had to." Sonic shook his head. "The voices know what's going on; they're looking out for me."

"The...voices in your head?" The doctor asked. "You know those aren't real. They're hallucinations caused by your schizophrenia."

Sonic shook his head again. "No, they're my friends. They've always been there for me. Nobody else ever has."

The doctor sighed and shook his head; this was getting nowhere. "Well, you're going to be in here for a long time. I'll come back later to check on you."

He left, closing and locking the cell door behind him. Sonic looked around. A growl built up in his throat as he looked at the virtually empty room. Sitting didn't help at all, only serving to hurt him more. As he fell back onto the bed, Sonic decided that the centipede must still be in his body somewhere. He closed his eyes in pain as he felt it move through his body. There was no way to get it out; it was a parasite infecting him.

_You're going to die if you stay in here!_ The voices yelled at him.

"I know that!" Sonic snapped at them. "But this damn centipede can't come out! I've tried everything; it's stuck inside me!"

Sonic heard the voices growl as he did so. It was hopeless, he couldn't think of any way out of this. Besides, he couldn't die. Since he had injected that serum, he was now immortal...but that was only in his Black Doom form. He saw the centipede move up his chest and grit his teeth in pain. Sonic wondered if it was moving towards his brain. If it did, it would infect him and he would die.

"This is torture," he groaned. "Why did this have to happen?" The voices said nothing. Sonic felt a massive pain inside his body and he groaned, then vomited. He had to get to the doctor. "Can anyone hear me?" Sonic yelled. "I need the doctor!"

A few minutes later, the doctor came in. "What is it?"

"That fucking centipede is going to kill me!" he yelled.

The doctor frowned. "Maybe it should. We can't even get the thing out as we don't know where it is. "

Sonic glared at him, starting to growl again. "You want it to kill me."

"We could transfer you to the hospital and the doctor there can try."

Sonic looked away from the doctor, trying to find out where the centipede was now. He felt a buldge in his chest and felt it moving towards his neck. Sonic's eyes widened and he looked at the doctor. "Can't you see it?" he asked.

The doctor took a closer look and nodded. "I can see it now."

Sonic sighed. "What are you going to do?"

"Try to get it out."

The doctor left. A few minutes later he came back with some operating equipment. Sonic looked at the equipment in mild worry and took a breath. If the doctor didn't hurry, he really would die. The doctor started working. A few minutes later he frowned.

"I can't get it out. The centipede is eating your insides. How did you get it in you?"

Sonic thought back. The memory caused him to wrinkle his nose. "It crawled into my belly button."

"I see. Sorry I can't do anything. "

"There has to be something." Sonic whimpered.

The doctor sighed. "We'll take you to the hospital. Hopefully the doctors there can get it out."

Sonic nodded. The doctor got Sonic to the hospital as quickly as he could. When they arrived, more doctors came to help and ask what was wrong. Once the mental patient was done explaining they started to operate. Unfortunately the doctors couldn't get the centipede out either. Sonic whimpered in both pain and despair at the news. He hesitated and stood up. They transferred him back to the asylum but as he left the hospital he saw Shadow. Sonic stared at her. The black hedgehog was still in a vegetative state.

"Was that my doing?" he asked.

"It was," the doctor said. "She'll be like that for a long time."

"Good." Sonic nodded and looked away.

The doctor was shocked at what Sonic had said. Then he sighed and went back to the asylum, locking Sonic in his cell.


	20. Attempted Murder

Chapter 20: Attempted Murder

Sonic sat on the bed, wondering where the centipede was now. As he stared around his cell, he thought of what he had seen at the hospital. Shadow was in a vegetative state and wouldn't wake. The insane hedgehog chuckled at the thought and heard the voices speak again.

_A shame she didn't die. She deserves it, though._

Sonic nodded. "We should kill her. It's not like she can do anything."

_How will we get there? We can't kill her from here._

The insane hedgehog chuckled and teleported out of the cell. He reappeared in the room he had seen Shadow in. Checking around for any of the doctors, he smiled. Luck was on his side. Sonic looked down at Shadow. She seemed so helpless. Just then, Blaze came in and saw him. She gasped. Sonic looked up at the sound of her gasp. Before she could call for help, he grabbed her and kept her mouth shut. Remaining where he was, he looked down at Shadow. He felt a kick to his head and fell backwards. Blaze stood up and looked at him, flames in her hands.

"What are you doing? She asked.

Sonic growled at her. "Finishing what I started. What do you think?" His glare turned to the flames. "Shouldn't you put those out?"

Blaze did so and lunged at Sonic. She punched him. "I heard that centipede is still inside you. It looks like Silver is doing her work."

Sonic got to his feet again. "So what if she is? I can still kill Shadow before then."

"That isn't going to happen."

In minutes, the police had surrounded the room. Sonic saw that Blaze had her cell phone out.

"Why are you bothering? She's going to be like this for the rest of her life!" Sonic growled at the cat. He couldn't believe she had tricked him.

"It matters to me because she is still alive."

Sonic growled. He tried to run but the cops captured him. "Let go of me! If that damn centipede is going to kill me, I'd rather not have it happen locked in some cell!"

"That is where you belong," Blaze told him, and watched Sonic being carried away.

Blaze looked back at Shadow. Stroking the hedgehog's face, she gave her friend a smile. "I hope you recover," she said. "If not..."

Blaze sighed and pulled back. Looking at Shadow, she walked back to her house. She hoped Silver would be okay as she was still in Sonic's body. When she got home, the first thing she did was check on Shadic. The baby was sleeping in the crib. Blaze smiled and looked at him. Reaching into his crib, she stroked a hand over his forehead. With her watching over him, no harm was going to come to him. Blaze smiled. She saw a picture of her and Silver. Picking it up, she wondered how Silver was doing as a centipede.

* * *

Back at the asylum, Sonic found himself receiving some kind of medication.

"What the hell is this?" He asked them.

"It's medicine, Sonic. It's going to help you," the psychologist told him.

"With what?"

"These voices you've been hearing. It should help you to get rid of them."

Sonic glared at the psychologist. "I don't want to get rid of them!"

"You don't need them, Sonic."

"You really think so, do you?" He asked. "They help me!"

He stood up and turned into his Dark form before advancing on the psychologist.

"Sonic, calm down." The psychologist kept calm, hoping that remaining that way would prevent Sonic from attacking him.

The insane hedgehog attacked. The psychologist tried to move away from the hedgehog, his mind telling him that no one was fast enough to get away from Sonic. He didn't get very far. Sonic grabbed the psychologist and choked him.

"You don't want to help me," he said, and cracked the psychologist's neck, twisting it around 180 degrees. The psychologist fell to the floor, dead, blood pouring from his broken neck. "None of you want to help me!" he yelled. Sonic kicked the door open and went into the hallway.

The doctors looked shocked. Sonic grinned and murdered them violently. Blood covered the entire hallway. The hedgehog laughed as he did so, running down the halls in search of anyone else. He saw the other inmates, wondering if he should free them. After a few moments of thinking, he smiled again. They deserved to be let free.

He opened the cells. "Follow me," he said.

The others followed Sonic in anticipation. Sonic nodded, escaping once again. When he got outside, he felt the centipede move up his neck and groaned, feeling sick. Bending over, he tried to shake the feeling away. The others looked at him in curiosity.

"I'm sick," he admitted.

"Are you going to be all right?" one of them asked him.

"I have a fucking centipede inside my fucking body that is slowly fucking killing me. Of course I'm not alright!" The others looked at each other in confusion again. "I'll tell you later."

"Did you have something in mind, or were you just letting us all out?"

Sonic grinned and nodded. He did have something planned.,"Yes, I do. Follow me." The inmates nodded. They followed Sonic to Blaze's house. "We need to take care of her, and get my baby back."


	21. Brain Damage

Chapter 21: Brain Damage

Sonic chuckled and transformed into Black Doom before barging into the house. Blaze ran over to see who it was, though she had a pretty good idea. Seeing Black Doom, her eyes narrowed and she summoned flames.

"I won't let you abuse him again," she said.

Black Doom smiled. He let out a blast of dark energy that knocked Blaze to the floor. Smiling, he grabbed Shadic. When he looked up, a plane was in Blaze's place.

"You wouldn't do anything that could hurt him, would you?" Black Doom held the baby close to himself.

The fighter jet readied its weapons, locking on Black Doom Black Doom's eyes widened as the plane locked on to him. Throwing another ball of energy, he started moving away. It flew out of the house and followed him, firing its weapons. The alien growled in anger and tried to move away. The others he had freed from the asylum ran off when they saw the plane coming after the alien. Black Doom tried attacking it with his balls of dark energy, clutching Shadic close to him. The plane dodged and continued to attack.

Most of the shots missed, hitting the surrounding city instead. Black Doom was doing his best to avoid them all, remembering how it had felt last time they hit. The sick feeling slammed into him full force again and he stopped. He groaned and fell to the ground, holding his head in pain. This time, the shots did hit him. He roared in pain. Black Doom looked at the plane and snarled, still holding his head. The pain was unbearable. The plane hovered in place, not daring to change back. In the state he was in, Black Doom could seriously hurt it. It fired more weapons at the alien, hoping they would hit him.

Black Doom looked up at the sound, unable to do anything about them. The bullet hit him and he roared in pain. Black Doom flung as much energy as he could in the direction of the plane. The plane dodged the blast and fired another missile. It hit Black Doom and he fell to the ground. Then he looked at the plane and teleported away with Shadic.

Blaze turned back to her normal form, frowning. Shadic being in the alien's hands had her more worried than anything else. She sighed and went inside. Blaze sat on the nearest chair and sighed again. She'd failed both Shadow and Silver. All she could do now was hope Silver could finish his job. Blaze stood up and ran to the hospital to visit Shadow. Shadow didn't look any different when she got there.

She sighed and saw the doctor walk in. "She'll wake in a week but she won't be the same. Shadow will be confined to a wheelchair with life support. "

"So, she's been improving."The doctor nodded. "That's great news." Blaze looked at Shadow with a smile. "I'll be there for her."

She looked at Shadow and stroked her face. The doctor smiled and left the room. A week later, Blaze came in to pick Shadow up. She was in a wheelchair and looked at Blaze, not recognizing her. Shadow had a feeding tube in her mouth and was on life support.

Blaze had a look of sympathy on her face and stroked the hedgehog's cheek. "I'm going to look after you from now on." The hedgehog continued to look at her. "What's wrong with her? Other than needing life support."

The doctor hesitated. "She has brain damage. "

Blaze took a breath and let it out slowly. "How much?"

"It's pretty bad."

Blaze's eyes widened and she looked at Shadow. "Is that why she doesn't seem to recognize me?"

The doctor nodded. Blaze sighed and took Shadow home. When she got there, she showed Shadow around. She felt pity for Shadow; the hedgehog didn't deserve this at her age. Blaze looked over at Shadow when she thought she heard her say something.

"Shadow?" She asked. "What did you say?"

Shadow looked over at the cat. "I'm bored," she repeated.

Blaze's eyes widened. "You can speak!"

Shadow stared at her blankly. The cat frowned as she saw Shadow stare at her; the feeding tube was still in her mouth. Blaze sighed and wheeled Shadow into her room. Shadow looked around the room in curiosity. She frowned and slumped further in her wheelchair. The life support monitor continued to beep. Blaze frowned and kneeled beside her.

"It will be okay, Shadow," she told the hedgehog. "I'm here."

Shadow looked at her with nonrecognition.

"Even if you don't remember me." Blaze gave the hedgehog a smile. "Just let me know if there's anything you need."

Shadow nodded hesitantly. "Where...Shadic...?" She said.

"You remember him?" The happiness Blaze felt at the words quickly evaporated. "Sonic has him."

"Who...?"

"His father." Shadow frowned and fell silent once again. "Is something wrong, Shadow?" The hedgehog looked at her, staring into space. Blaze sighed. "I'll be in the house if you need anything else."

Shadow said nothing and Blaze left the room. The hedgehog stared after her.


	22. The New Ultimate Life Form

Chapter 22: The New Ultimate Life Form

Sonic remained in the form of Black Doom once he had teleported back to the ARK. His wounds were in need of healing. The alien looked at himself and closed his eyes, summoning Chaos Energy to heal his wounds. He could still feel the centipede migrating towards his brain. If he knew how to stop that, he would do it in an instant. Ignoring the centipede, Black Doom focused on healing himself. It was done in a few minutes. Black Doom looked around the ARK and saw Shadic. He sighed, wondering if there was some way to advance his aging.

"Maybe there's something in the ARK," he said. Black Doom picked up the baby and brought him with him, looking for anything useful. Then he chuckled as an idea came to him. He would recreate Shadic as the Ultimate Lifeform. But to do that, he would have to kill his son first. Holding Shadic up in front of him, he gave the baby hedgehog a smile. "You'll become the new Ultimate Lifeform."

He put Shadic in the same pod that Shadow had been created in, and started the process. Black Doom stood back and watched over it, making sure nothing went wrong. It would take a few days, he knew. The alien injected his blood into Shadic's body. Once the process was complete, he moved back. Over the course of the next year, he had to keep this room safe. Black Doom smiled with glee. Once Shadic became the next Ultimate Lifeform, nothing could stop them.

A year later, Black Doom went in to see if it was complete. A full grown Shadic stood in the pod, his eyes closed. Black Doom smirked and opened it. Shadic opened his eyes and got out, looking at Black Doom.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Black Doom."

"You...are the one who created me?"

The alien nodded. "I am your father."

Shadic nodded and looked around the room. "Where are we?"

"The ARK. This is where you were created. I have plans for the people of Earth, and I want you to help me."

"Okay. What do I need to do?"

Black Doom chuckled evilly and began to abuse his son. Shadic was startled by the sudden abuse, unsure of what he had done to deserve it.

"If you want to help me than you must be powerful and know pain!" Black Doom yelled, continuing to hit his son. Shadic understood; this was a lesson. Still, he didn't like this abuse. Closing his eyes tight, he tried to endure it.

The minutes felt like hours. Once Black Doom was finished, he looked at his son. Cuts and bruises were all over his body. Shadic was laying on the floor, whimpering. His wounds weren't enough to kill him, but Black Doom was certain they were enough to help him. Black Doom chuckled and turned back into Sonic, looking at his son.

"I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?" Sonic leaned over him as he asked.

Shadic looked up at him. "No...father. I understand it was to teach me a lesson."

Sonic nodded, laughing gleefully. "Good. You're a fast learner, like your mother."

"My...mother? What are you talking about? I wasn't born, just created."

"Never mind." Sonic gave him a kick. "Get up."

Shadic whimpered and nodded, looking at his father. "What happened to your arms?"

Sonic glared at him. "That's none of your business."

"Sorry..."

Sonic was still glaring at him, though he didn't hit him again.

"Don't do it again. If it's something you need to know, I'll tell you."

"Yes...father..." Shadic said, hoping that Sonic wouldn't hit him again.

Sonic nodded. "Now come along. We have some work to do."

Shadic hesitated and followed him. Sonic walked through the ARK, thinking over his plans. Now that Shadic was complete, he could get revenge on everyone on Earth. Including those who had locked him away. He chuckled and teleported down to Station Square, looking for Blaze and Shadow. Suddenly, a wave of pain entered his head and he groaned, vomiting up blood. Sonic looked down at it in disgust, starting to get back up before vomiting again.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Shadic asked.

"I think it's the centipede..."

"What centipede?"

Sonic looked at him. "There's a centipede inside my body. It's been causing all kinds of problems, and killing me."

Shadic's eyes widened. "When will you..."

"I don't know!" Sonic snapped.

The Ultimate Life Form looked away. He didn't like the thought of his father dying. Sonic looked at the ground again, wondering if he was done vomiting. The feeling didn't surface again, so he started into the city. Shadic followed him. Once they got into the city, Sonic clutched his head in pain and fell to the ground, vomiting up more blood. The pain he felt was like something was eating away at his brain. Shadic looked over at him in alarm as Sonic screamed. More blood came up and ended his scream as Shadic watched in horror.

"DAD!" He rushed up to him. "What's wrong?"

Sonic said nothing, just clutched his head as blood ran down his nose, staining his face in it. Shadic stared at it, feeling his panic rising. "Should I get help?"

"There's...nothing you...can...do..." Sonic said weakly.

"I have to let you die in front of me?"

Sonic shrugged. He was sweating and shaking badly, coughing up more blood. The insane hedgehog stood up weakly and transformed into Black Doom. Shadic watched, ready to help him if he needed to.

"I'm immortal in this form," Black Doom said. "But I still feel weak."

He coughed and started to sweat again; the pain in his head was getting worse. Black Doom moved a hand to his head. Nothing would help him; he knew that. But he had some things he had to do.

"Come on, Shadic."

Shadic nodded and followed his father, still thinking about when he would die. Black Doom looked around the city, deciding what the first order of business should be. He chuckled, deciding to pay the hospital a visit. He turned back into Sonic as Shadic followed him. It was time to see Tails.


	23. Truth

Chapter 23: Truth

When they arrived at the hospital, Sonic walked through the front doors with a confused Shadic following him. One of the doctors tried to stop him, but he attacked the man first.

"Shadic," he told his son. "Find a person named Tails and kill him. I'll deal with the hospital staff."

Shadic nodded and hurried to do what Sonic wanted. The computer was the fastest way to find Tails, so he went around the counter with hope that he'd be able to figure out how to find the information. A few minutes later, he found where Tails was located and ran off. Soon the Ultimate Life Form had went into Tails' room; the fox was badly injured.

"They said you were in bad condition," Shadic said. He went over to Tails's bedside. The fox didn't look like someone who deserved to die, but it wasn't his place to question Sonic. The least he could do was give him a quick death.

Tails opened his eyes and saw him. "Shadic...?"

Shadic hesitated. "How do you know my name?"

"Your mother and I...are friends...but she's in critical condition. Sonic..did this...don't...trust...him."

"But he's my father. Why wouldn't I trust him? He created me."

"Created...what are you talking about? And how did you age so rapidly? Last time I saw you a year ago, you were only a baby..."

"I woke up and I was in something called the ARK. Father told me he created me to help him with something on Earth."

Tails shook his head. "He must have used Gerald's machine to re-create you as the new Ultimate Lifeform..." he muttered under his breath. "Sonic isn't who you think he is...he's insane. He killed his own family...and tried to kill me an your mother...and kidnapped you...go to Blaze...she'll tell you everything."

Shadic was confused, but nodded. "What about you? And how will I know I've found Blaze?"

Tails wrote her address down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. Shadic looked at it and nodded, but then remembered what Sonic told him to do.

"Sonic told me to kill you," he said. "But if you're telling the truth, I shouldn't."

The fox nodded and coughed as Shadic left the hospital. He ran to Blaze's house and knocked on the door. The door opened and Blaze stood there.

"Shadic..." she said, tears in her eyes. "It's been over a year...what happened to you?"

"I woke up like this in the ARK. Tails told me you could explain everything."

"Yes...of course. Come in."

Shadic nodded and did so. Blaze looked at him; he had the appearance of a sixteen year old. She hesitated and brought Shadic into the room where Shadow was. Shadic's eyes widened when he saw her. "What happened to her?" He looked at Blaze. "Is there anything I can do for her?"

"This is your mother," Blaze said. "A year ago, Shadow found out that Sonic was abused as a child and decided to help him. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was put in a mental hospital but escaped, and killed his own parents. Tails will be released from the hospital in a few days. Shadow got pregnant and had you...but she couldn't keep you because it reminded her too much of Sonic, so I took you in and adopted you but Sonic kidnapped you. A few days after Shadow gave birth, Sonic tortured her, causing her to go in a vegetative state. Now she's like this. She's been like this for over a year now."

"Father did this?" Shadic nearly choked on the words, vision blurring with tears. He couldn't believe Sonic had done this. Or that he was about to help him. "Why would he do something like this? Was it his schizophrenia?"

Blaze nodded. "Sonic's a very dangerous person," she told her adopted son. "He's insane. But, hopefully, he'll die from the centipede in his body."

This confused Shadic. "How do you know of it?"

"I was there when it went into his body."

"Do you know this centipede?"

Blaze nodded. "It used to be Silver. She was my wife."

Shadic's eyes widened. "I...I see. Interesting. Are you...okay with her as a centipede? Why did she turn into one?"

"I still don't know if I'm okay with it. As for why she became one... It was to help against Sonic. We were fighting him, and she used one of the serums found on the ARK."

"I understand. So...what can we do about him?"

"I don't know," Blaze said. "We've tried so many things..."

Shadic sighed and looked at Shadow. She seemed so helpless. The immortal hedgehog gulped and looked at Blaze. "What about Tails? Maybe he can help us. Besides, Sonic said that the centipede was killing him. Why not wait until it does?"

"I don't know how much damage he can do before it kills him," Blaze said. "I'll go see Tails. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to Shadow."

The Ultimate Lifeform nodded and watched Blaze leave. he sighed, sat on the bed, and looked at his mother. She wasn't moving, just sitting in the wheelchair still on life support.

"You probably don't even know who I am," he said. "I wish this hadn't had to happen." Shadow sat there. Shadic could hear her breathing into the tube in her mouth, and her hand, Shadic thought over everything Blaze had told him. He wanted to know more about his mother.

"Shadow...I'm sorry. I know you gave me away...but...why?"

Shadow looked at him, but there wasn't any recognition in her eyes. Shadic whimpered and looked away, staring to cry. Laying on the bed, he put his face in the pillow as he cried. He just hoped Blaze got back soon.


	24. The Discussion of Shadow

Chapter 24: The Discussion of Shadow

A few hours later, Blaze came back to her house. She had gotten some serums from Tails' house after the fox was released, and arrived there as well.

"Shadic?" She yelled. "I'm back!"

The cat heard crying coming from her room. Blaze went into her room, placing the serums down on her way in. Seeing Shadic crying on her bed, she went over and lay a hand on his back. Mindful of the quills, she started petting him.

"What's wrong?"

Shadic looked at her, slapping her hand away. "It's just...I missed so much of my life. I was kidnapped, only to find out that I have a mother who is in a vegetative state and a father who is insane."

Blaze sighed. She had asked a stupid question. "Ask me anything. I'll explain it to you the best I can."

"Why is my father...insane?"

"I assume it's the abuse he was subject to as a child. He didn't tell anyone about it, so we couldn't help him."

Shadic hesitated. "Is there any way we can stop him?"

Blaze nodded and brought out the serums Tails had given her. "Tails thinks these should be able to help."

"What are they? Transformation serums?"

"Not permanent, so we don't need to worry about that."

"Alright. What kind are they?" Shadic asked.

Blaze looked at them. "A variety. Weapons, machines, animals, and monsters."

"Can't you already become a plane?"

"Yes, I don't think I'll be using any of these."

Shadic nodded and grabbed the serums, looking at them. Reading each of the labels, he tried to decide what would be the most helpful against Sonic. Eventually, he decided on the Final Hazard.

"Should I wait?" he asked Blaze.

Blaze nodded. "It would be best."

"Will you tell me when I ought to use it?"

"Yeah, I will."

Shadic nodded and looked at Shadow again. "I hope she'll be okay. How long has she been like this?" He asked his adopted mother.

"A few months at least." Blaze shook her head. "I don't think she's ever going to be back to normal."

Tears came to his eyes and he nodded. "So...what's wrong with her? Is she still in a vegetative state, or what?"

"She responds more than she used to now, but I don't think she's gotten much better."

Shadic nodded, and looked at Shadow once again. She turned her head and looked at him. He felt sorry that she had to be like this. "Is she going to die?"

"There have been times I was tempted to let her. But as long as she has her life support, she'll live."

The immortal Ultimate Life Form nodded, and looked at Shadow. "But if she'll be like this for the rest of her life...wouldn't it be best to let her die? She can't really do anything."

Blaze thought about it and nodded. "I keep thinking that myself. Shadow wouldn't want to be in this sorry state, either." Blaze looked at Shadow again. "But I can't bring myself to let her die. It isn't much better than killing her myself."

"Well...she'll die eventually."

The female cat hesitated, thinking about it. Tears came to her face and she nodded again; Shadic was right. "You're right. We should end her suffering..."

Shadic hesitated, looking at Shadow again. He walked up to her, and Shadow looked at him with soulless eyes.

"Who...?"

"Shadic," he said.

The hedgehog frowned. "Shadic...?" She asked, trying to remember. Then she looked at him...the hedgehog reminded her of Sonic.

"Sonic...you remind me of him."

Shadic's eyes widened and he nodded. "Yes...I'm his...and your...son..."

Shadow stared at him. "I'm not that old..."

The immortal hedgehog frowned, wondering what Shadow meant by that. Shadow wasn't immortal, he knew, so he looked at Blaze for an explanation.

"I think she's referring to how old you look," she said. "She's not old enough to have given birth to someone your age."

Shadic frowned and looked at Shadow again. "How old is she?" he asked Blaze.

"Twenty-one."

The immortal hedgehog nodded, looking at Shadow again. She looked past him, not saying anything, still breathing through the feeding tube. "Isn't there something we can do?"

Blaze shook her head. "The doctor said she would be like this for the rest of her life."

"I guess it is best to kill her..." Shadic bit his lower lip, turning his gaze to the floor. "You said so yourself that she wouldn't want to be left like this."

"No..." Shadow said quietly.

They looked at her. Shadow was shaking her head slightly.

"Now what?" Blaze asked.

"Don't...die..."

Blaze looked at Shadic. "I think she's saying she doesn't want to die."

Shadic's eyes widened and he nodded. "All right..." he said.

Blaze stroked the side of Shadow's face. "We'll keep looking after you, don't worry."

Shadow nodded, and fell silent once again. Blaze looked at the serums in her hands and gave a few to Shadic.

"One will transform you into the Biolizard, and the other is meant to take Sonic's powers away."

"How will we get close enough to inject it?"

Blaze smirked and brought out another serum. This one would turn her into a strong robot so she could match Sonic's power. "I can match Sonic with this," she said. "You just need to inject the serum after I stop him long enough."

"Alright," Shadic said, grinning. "Should we leave now? What about Shadow?"

"We should ask someone to look after her," Blaze said. "I don't want to leave her here by herself."

"Let's ask Tails. He was just released from the hospital."

"All right. Stay with her, I'll get Tails." Blaze ran off and returned half an hour later with Tails.

Blaze and Shadic explained everything to him, and the fox agreed to help. Shadic sighed and them nodded as the two walked out of the house, looking for Sonic.

"Do you know where he was intending to go?" Blaze asked.

"We were at the hospital, ready to kill Tails. I don't know where he went next."

"I'm sure we'll find him. He probably has a lot he wants to do in this city."

Shadic nodded. He hesitated, and the continued to look.


	25. A Reason for Insanity

Chapter 25: A Reason for Insanity

Meanwhile, Sonic had snuck into Blaze's house, eager to kill both Tails and Shadow. Walking through the house, he tried to remember where all the rooms were. It had been a while since he'd been to Blaze's.

_Kill both of them..._ the voices said.

Sonic nodded. "I have to find them first... Can't remember where that woman's room is."

He wandered around the house until he soon heard voices. Grinning, he walked into the room and saw Tails and Shadow. That pathetic hedgehog was still in a wheelchair. Tails was holding her hand, talking to her about something that didn't interest Sonic.

"You two are still alive," Sonic commented. "How did you manage that?"

The fox jumped and looked at Sonic in horror. He gasped and stood up, backing away from Sonic as the knife appeared, hovering above him. Tails looked around, unsure of what would be useful against the murderous hedgehog. "Sonic, why are you trying to kill us? None of us ever did anything to you."

The insane hedgehog chuckled. "That's where you're wrong, fox boy."

Tails frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"None of you even tried to help me," Sonic said. "I was hurting, and nobody was there for me."

"If you had told us, we would have helped you!" Tails shouted back.

"No! I shouldn't have had to tell you!" Sonic pointed the knife at Tails accusingly. "How long have you known me? You knew me better than any of the others!"

"You hid your abuse pretty well, though!" Tails said. "None of us knew what you were going though!"

Sonic growled and slashed Tails across the stomach. Tails put a hand over the gash, keeping his gaze on Sonic. Seeing his own blood wasn't something he wanted to do.

"That isn't an excuse!" Sonic yelled at him.

The fox glared at him and tried to run but Sonic grabbed him telekinetically and slammed him against the wall, wounding him. Tails fell to the floor, whimpering in pain. Both of his tails started curling around him. He wasn't a fighter; he never had been. Ears moving back, he looked up again. Something had to be done about Sonic.

"STOP!" a voice shouted.

Sonic turned around to see his son. "Where have you been?" he yelled at him. "I told you to kill Tails! Why didn't you do it?"

Shadic chuckled. "He and Blaze told me the truth about my past...about you."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at him. "You're going to betray me as well? For people you don't even know? How do you know they aren't lying to you?"

Shadic hesitated. He looked at Sonic and then at Tails and Shadow.

"Don't believe him," Tails said. "He's completely insane!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Sonic yelled, and dug the knife into tails' throat. He choked on his own blood and died. Shadic gasped and looked at Sonic fearfully.

"How...how could you?" He asked, backing away from his insane father.

"I had to. He was trying to take you away from me."

"But...dad..."

He hesitated and gasped as he saw something. A gigantic robot stood behind Sonic, its optics focusing on the hedgehog.

Sonic frowned "What? Is something wrong?" The robot attacked before Sonic could turn to see what it was. He smashed into the wall and stood up, groaning. His eyes widened in fear when he saw the robot. It walked forwards and looked at him.

"Mission: kill Sonic the Hedgehog," it said.

Sonic glared at the robot. "Plenty of others have tried, and they've all failed. You're no different." Inside, Sonic wasn't nearly as confident as he'd sounded.

The robot lunged and pushed him outside so they had more rom to battle. Shadic followed them. He saw the robot raise its arms and turn them into cannons. Shadic watched as Sonic avoided the first shots fired, a look of determination on his face. He chuckled and shot dark energy at the robot but the attacks did nothing to it. Sonic frowned when he saw that, growling at the robot. Lifting a section of one of the walls the robot had destroyed, he hurled it in the robot's direction. It caught the wall and threw it back at Sonic, who had no time to dodge the incoming object. The force of the blow knocked him to his feet as Shadic ran over and injected the serum into him that would cause Sonic to lose his powers.

Shadic moved back away from Sonic as soon as it was injected, tossing the empty syringe onto the ground. The hedgehog faltered, and began to groan in pain. Both Shadic and the robot looked down at him. The robot scanned his body and nodded.

"He has lost his powers," it said, injecting the paralysis serum into him. "Now we wait for the centipede to finish its job."

Shadic nodded and watched as Sonic tried to get up. He groaned in pain and fell back down, holding his head. Blood was gushing from his nose.

"Help...me..." he said. "Please..."

"I don't think I can." Shadic moved toward him despite what he had said.

Sonic glared at his son. "I'm dying...you are my son...don't you love me? I do."

Shadic hesitated. Then he dropped to his knees and helped Sonic. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. "I don't think I can get the centipede out."

Sonic touched his son's face. A pain could be felt in Shadic's head and he began to hear voices as well. They were all yelling at him, but he couldn't understand with them all talking at once.

"What..." Shadic looked at his father. "What have you done?"

"I'm continuing my legacy," Sonic said.

Shadic's eyes widened; he knew what Sonic meant. Shadic would slowly become insane like his father, and no one could stop it. Sonic's hand fell to the ground and he coughed up blood. His breathing slowed, and he passed away.


	26. Shadic's Insanity

Chapter 26: Shadic's Insanity

Shadic sat there, looking down at his father, for a few minutes. When he looked up, tears were building in his eyes. He felt rage build up inside him. The immortal hedgehog stood and glared at the robot, even though it wasn't entirely its fault.

"You...you killed my father!"

"We had to," the robot said. "You know there was nothing else we could do."

Shadic shook his head. "He was powerless! You could have sent him back to the asylum!"

"Either way, he would have died. The asylum wouldn't have been able to do anything to help him."

The immortal hedgehog growled. He noticed a centipede crawl out of Sonic's nose and caught it in a jar. "I'll keep this in here."

The robot nodded and walked away. Shadic grinned and chuckled. He could hear the voices in his head telling him what to do.

"I'll finish what father started..." he said.

An insane laugh ripped from his throat and he ran off to Blaze's house carrying the centipede with him. When he arrived, he ran right to Blaze's room. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Shadic frowned. Leaving the room, he checked the rest of the house. Shadow was in hers, still in a wheelchair and hooked up to life support. Shadic looked at his mother, feeling sympathy well up inside him. He couldn't kill her but he could kill Blaze. However, he had a feeling that she was the robot. Shadic looked at the centipede.

"What should I do with it?" He asked the voices. "It killed father."

_You could kill it. Insects die easily._

Shadic hesitated. This thing used to be Silver, Blaze's wife. Blaze had never mentioned that she was gay. Shadic looked at the centipede again. Maybe he could use it, instead. He chuckled and picked it up, wondering if it was in that form forever or could change back.

"Can you change back to yourself?" Shadic asked. "Or have you been a centipede too long?" The centipede scuttled out of the jar and looked at Shadic. "Well?" Shadic crossed his arms, looking down at it. It tried to change back. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Shadic sighed and picked up the centipede. "Guess you can't. Oh well. You're all mine now."

The centipede wriggled in his hand. It tried to escape and bit him. Shadic yelled and dropped it as it crawled away. He looked at where it had bit him. A swollen wound had appeared and he ran after the centipede. It had crawled under something, and Shadic growled. Finding it was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Come back here!" He yelled, following it.

Shadic soon found it difficult to keep track of. He growled and saw it, then put the jar over the insect. The centipede ran into the curve of the jar, unable to go anywhere else. Shadic chuckled and put in in his pocket. He heard a noise and looked around to see Blaze. She had just walked in, and was startled to see him.

"Shadic? What are you doing here?"

The immortal hedgehog grinned. "I was looking for you," he said. "Also..."

He held up the jar that had the centipede.

Blaze's eyes widened. "You still have Silver?"

"I do," Shadic told her. "What should we do with it?"

"Do you know if she can return to normal?"

"It cannot," Shadic said. "The centipede already tried."

"I see." Blaze looked down for a brief moment. "I should see how Shadow's doing."

She left and went into Shadow's room. Shadic followed her. "When you were the robot, I told you not to kill Sonic," he said angrily. "Why did you? Even though he was insane, I still loved him!"

"I did it because he was insane. I'm sorry Shadic, but sometimes you have to give up someone or something you love in order to do what's best for everyone. I didn't want to kill him either, but if we had left him alone, he would have only gotten worse. Who knows what he could have done to the planet?"

"But we took all of his powers away!"

"He was going to die regardless. Nothing would have stopped that."

The immortal hedgehog frowned. He watched Blaze retreat as the voices were heard in his head. _She killed your father and the centipede was also doing its work...kill her._

Shadic chuckled and nodded. He watched Blaze. It would be foolish to simply attack her. Surprise was the best course of action. He chuckled and left, then saw a knife in the kitchen and grabbed it, sneaking up behind her quietly. Raising the knife, he plunged it into her back. Blaze cried out, falling forward.

She fell to the ground and looked at Shadic. "Why?"

"Because you killed my father. You and Silver were working together."

"But..."

Shadic stabbed her again. Blaze screamed again. Shadic continued to do so until she died. When he was done, he turned to the centipede. It was what had truly killed his father. He advanced on the centipede. Scared, it stung him multiple times and did what it did to Sonic.

Shadic growled in anger. "You're going to kill me the same way you killed him?"

The centipede burrowed into his body. Shadic screamed as he tried to pull it out. The centipede wriggled from his fingers, getting into his body before he could get it out.

"Fuck!" Shadic said. "I cannot die the same way my father did! Tell me what to do!" He asked the voices.

_Sonic couldn't get it out, but maybe you can. It can't have traveled too far into your body._

Shadic nodded and closed his eyes, using his powers to try and get the centipede out. He felt something moving inside his abdomen. Sucking in a breath, he focused on the movement he felt. He concentrated and tried to get the centipede out. Gasping in pain, Shadic squeezed his eyes shut. Even using his telekinesis, the motion filled him with intense pain. He felt something counter his telekinesis and knew it was the centipede. Shadic released his powers, moving to sit on the floor. He sighed and shook his head, wondering what would happen now.

Looking around the house, he decided to stay there, at least for a while. Shadic sighed and walked into the bedroom, looking at his mother. He felt sorry for her.

Going over, he placed a hand over hers. "I'm sorry, mother."

She looked at him with soulless eyes. Shadic looked at her as well and began to cry. Placing his head in her lap, Shadic held her as best as he could. Soon, he felt a hand lay on top of his head. It did nothing else, but the simple gesture was enough to make him feel a little better.

"Mother...what should I do?" He asked, still sobbing.

Shadow pet through his quills without saying anything. Shadic looked up at Shadow, looking at her through his tear-stained face. Shadow looked down at him and gave him a small smile.

"I wish you could speak," Shadic told her. Then he stood up and sighed, walked out of the room, and looked at Blaze's dead body. The voices in his head began again.

_Are you going to stay with your mother until you die?_

"I can't die," Shadic said. "I'm immortal."

_What about the centipede? Are you sure it won't be able to succeed?_

"Even if it does, it won't kill me."

_You should probably do something about the cat,_ the voices said.

Shadic nodded. He dragged the body out of the house and buried it in the backyard. Once he was done, he covered it up and went back inside. He was slowly becoming insane, just like his father.


	27. Possession

Chapter 27: Possession  


Going back into Shadow's room, he looked at her again. She was, of course, right where he had left her.

"She's not going anywhere," Shadic muttered.

_Unless you move her,_ the voices said. "Are you sure you don't want to do something about her?"

"She is my mother. Why would I do anything to her? Did you have any suggestions?"

_Never mind. If we change our minds, we'll let you know._

Shadic nodded and looked around. He sat down and began to meditate, using his telekinesis to get the centipede out of his body. Like last time, the centipede made it difficult for him. He concentrated even harder, trying to figure out where it was within his body. When he finally found it, it was getting near his chest. Shadic took a knife and cut into his skin, grabbing the centipede and ripping it out of his body. It was covered in blood and he threw it on the floor as his wounds healed. Suddenly a bright light shone from the centipede as it began to transform.

Pain filled the centipede's small form as the glow intensified. Shuddering all over, the centipede felt almost all of its legs retreat into its body. It flinched as Shadic looked on curiously. The legs at the bottom of its body grew, feet developing on the ends of both. Hands formed at the ends of the upper ones as they also grew. The main body shrank, leaving less space between the legs and arms. Near the top, a bump formed over its chest. The antennae on top of its head shrank down and turned into small, hedgehog ears. A neck forced itself from the body, moving the head farther away from the rest of it. The centipede's head changed, face forming. Silver's slender nose was the last thing to form. Long headquills developed on her forehead, curving back over her head. At the back of her head, two more longer quills formed. Silver's body finished taking shape, fur covering her. Silver was on her hands and knees, shaking. When she managed to sit, she looked over at Shadic.

Shadic stared at her in shock. "What...how...?" Silver stared at him with wide eyes. She was certain he was going to kill her. "Silver...how...how did you change back?" Shadic asked, still shocked.

"I don't know. I didn't think I'd ever be able to."

Shadic thought about it. Suddenly, Silver shuddered again as she gained features of a centipede. It seemed that she was slowly transforming into one permanently.

"What's going on?" Shadic asked.

"I'm becoming a centipede permanently," Silver said. "Slowly gaining the features of one. It will take all day."

"Just gaining the features?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you just going to get features like a centipede or transform back into one?"

"Transform back into one," Silver told him.

Shadic nodded. "Why?"

"Most likely it is because I have been a centipede for too long."

The immortal hedgehog sighed, and then looked at her. "When you were a centipede...why did you enter my father's body?"

"It was the only thing I could think of. There isn't much a centipede can do to hurt someone."

Shadic glared at him. "And by doing so, you killed my father. Even though he was insane, I still loved him! And why did you enter my body as well?"

"You were trying to kill me. It was the best place to hide from you."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, but to capture you." Silver nodded and stood up. She looked at Shadic, wondering what he would do now. Shadic sighed. "Do you suppose you can help me with my mother?"

"Sure, I can do that. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Help me take care of her, I guess."

Silver smiled. "Shadic...why are you becoming insane as well?"

"When he was dying, father put his hand on my face and I felt something happen. He told me he was continuing his legacy."

The psychic's eyes widened in fear. "What happened? What are you experiencing now?"

"Right now?" Silver nodded. Shadic thought about it. "Sadness."

The psychic sighed and shook his head. He had to get Shadic to a mental hospital before he got worse. Suddenly, Shadic held his head in pain and he stood, laughing madly. Silver looked at him in alarm. She started backing away from Shadic. Shadic grinned insanely and looked at Silver; his eyes red. Then he spoke...but it wasn't Shadic's voice, it was Sonic's.


	28. Sonic's Last Stand

Chapter 28: Sonic's Last Stand

"I see you're not a little centipede anymore. How's your wife doing?"

Silver's eyes widened. "Sonic...but...how?"

"I transferred a part of myself into his mind."

The psychic hedgehog growled and lunged at him. Shadic laughed as he became Sonic in appearance and used his powers against Silver. The psychic hedgehog dodged it and noticed the serum that Shadic had, then went for that. Hopefully, he could use it.

Silver looked over at Sonic as he went for it, avoiding Sonic's attack. A dark energy beam collided with her and she screamed in pain, grabbing the serum as she did so, and plunged it into her skin. In minutes, she had become the Biolizard. It roared and attacked. Sonic looked at the Biolizard and growled. He remembered this thing. Avoiding it was difficult with how large it was. The Biolizard slammed its tail into Sonic, who fell back due to the force of the blow. They went outside, careful to not hit Shadow. Sonic growled at it again, throwing everything he could at the Biolizard.

It opened its mouth, letting loose a large blast of energy that hit the hedgehog. Sonic screamed in pain as the attack hit him. Sonic hated to admit it, but he doubted he was going to survive at this rate. The Biolizard growled, and then attacked once again. Sonic could do nothing to stop it, though he tried. He screamed in pain as the Biolizard wounded him greatly. It walked up and looked down at him, snorting, wondering what to do. Sonic was only possessing Shadic. Sonic glared up at the Biolizard.

"What are you going to do?" He asked it. "Kill me? If you do that, you'll be killing Shadic as well!"

The Biolizard roared at him again. Sonic smirked; he should have known it couldn't speak or understand him. It was just a mindless beast. The Biolizard placed its face on him as it thought over what to do. It was true what Sonic had said: Shadic would die as well if it killed him...but it didn't care. It's mind made up, the Biolizard attacked him again. Sonic screamed in pain. He teleported out of the way but the Biolizard sensed where he was going and attacked. The possessed hedgehog charged up a beam of dark energy, throwing it at the Biolizard.

It roared again, throwing an attack of its own in his direction. The hedgehog tried to dodge but the attack came to quickly. It hit him head on, burning him alive. The Biolizard stood back and watched as the hedgehog died. It roared proudly, then walked up to Sonic to see if he was dead or not. A groan could be heard as Sonic turned back into Shadic. he stood up and looked at the Biolizard, backing away in fear. It walked towards him, using telepathy.

_Are you back to normal now?_

"I...don't know. I'm still hearing the voices, but at least Sonic isn't trying to take control of me."

The Biolizard nodded. _That's good._

"Can you change back into Silver or are you in that form forever?" Shadic asked the Biolizard, looking at it.

_I'll try._

Shadic watched as it closed its eyes, trying to transform. A glow came over the Biolizard as Shadic watched. A few minutes later, Silver stood in its place, but had more features of the centipede.

"You're not going to be yourself for long, are you?" Shadic asked.

Silver shook her head. "In a few hours, I'll be a centipede permanently."

"Okay." Shadic nodded.

The psychic sighed and went back inside the house. She groaned in pain as hse gained more features of the centipede, this time antennae and more legs. Her body was starting to shrink as well. Shadic looked at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Silver shook her head. "No, I'm not."

Shadic nodded, looking at the transforming hedgehog with interest. He had never seen this kind of transformation before as it gradually happened.

Silver looked over at him again. "How far have I changed?"

"You have antennae, your body is shrinking, your fur is changing into scales and legs are starting to sprout from your body."

Silver sighed. "Will you take care of me once I've changed?"

"I can try, but what would I do with a centipede? Where would I put you?" Shadic asked.

"I don't know. I just don't want to get killed by some random animal."

The immortal hedgehog nodded and sat down on a chair, continuing to watch Silver's transformation. Silver's mouth changed, sharp pincers appearing as she parted her lips. Shadic's eyes widened and he smirked, amused and intrigued. He was entertained by this, as Silver's gradual transformation continued. Silver lay on the floor, as she waited. Having an audience felt strange to her, but she tried to ignore it. Over the span of an hour, she continued to transform. Silver lay on the floor as she waited. Having an audience felt strange to her, but she tried to ignore it. Both eyes closed as she felt her chest flatten. All of the legs Shadic told her about were slowly coming out of her body. A shudder overtook her form at the feeling. This time, her ears flattened and became part of her head. The five quills atop her head moved and became two, curling to make the antennae again. Looking up at Shadic, Silver's eyesight changed to a centipede's. Shadic leaned forward, watching closely as he witnessed Silver's eyes change. The hedgehog's head was still almost its normal size, so he could see each individual section of both eyes. A smile came to his face. Placing a hand on the top of Silver's head, he pet her. Silver reacted to his touch, moving away slightly before staying still. Looking down at her, Shadic watched as her legs became twin stumps sticking off the end of the centipede. The body had grown long earlier when her legs were growing out, and now Shadic had to admit that a centipede that large would be more than a little creepy. Silver's arms were the last things to change, forming the front set of legs. Shadic moved his hand away when she began shrinking. In seconds, the centipede she used to be was in front of him again.

Its instinctual fear of life forms bigger than it ignited, and it scuttled away from Shadic, trying to find somewhere safe. Shadic sighed in annoyance and got up to go after the centipede. It felt him coming and entered a hole in the wall, backing away from the creature it perceived as a threat.

"Silver, I'm not going to hurt you." Shadic shook his head at himself. "Now you're talking to insects," he muttered.

He got down on his hands and knees, peering into the wall. Shadic looked for the centipede and eventually saw it. Sitting back from the wall, he started devising a plan to get it out. He wondered why the centipede had run away from him. Most likely Silver had lost her mind and was now a centipede mentally as well. Shadic sighed. If that was the case, maybe he should just let it go where it wanted. A few minutes later, the centipede walked out. It looked around and saw Shadic, who held out his hand so that it could climb up. The centipede cautiously climbed into his outstretched hand, feeling around as it did so.

Shadic smiled, wondering what he should do with it. The centipede moved up his hand, onto his wrist. The immortal hedgehog chuckled and picked it up. He carried it outside and placed in on the ground.

"Go on, and be careful."

The centipede looked at him and then at the open freedom beneath it. Without waiting much longer, the centipede started crawling away. Shadic watched it leave, hoping it would be okay out in the wild. Sighing, he walked back inside the house and sat on the bed, looking at his mother. A smile came to his face. He was free. No more Sonic...no more insanity...he could finally do what he wanted.

Or so he thought...


End file.
